Buried Above Ground
by MotherHeninFlorida
Summary: Episode 3 in my version of what happens in the lives and crime lab of our team post season 9. See my profile for story order and links to each one. Episode 3 really needs to be read after Ep 2 as it is a continuation from a cliffhanger. Some mature themes and language consistent with the series. Does what happens in New Orleans stay in New Orleans? Disclaimers apply.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:** Welcome to Episode 3: Buried Above Ground. This episode is a continuation of the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 2: Rules of Engagement. This episode will take place mainly away from NYC. We'll also see Mac Taylor and Stella Bonsasera interacting once again, working together to solve the case in the present while dealing with the repercussions of their pasts. As always, disclaimers apply. I'm borrowing the characters respectfully for everyone's entertainment but I don't own a doggone thing. I appreciate any and all R&Rs and definitely listen to suggestions if any are made. Enjoy!_

 _Current order of the stories:_

 _Episode 1: Missing Heart_

 _Episode 2: Rules of Engagement_

 _Episode 3: Buried Above Ground_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Adam Ross' words hung in the air over a thousand miles away. _"Stella … I've got an emergency and I need your help."_

Boy had that been an understatement. Stella sat at her desk in her office at the New Orleans Crime Lab looking at the phone she'd just hung up, replaying the unexpected conversation. An emergency and he needed her help? The woman just shook her head and prayed that Mac could keep Adam from jittering apart because he certainly sounded like that was what he was on the way to doing.

She stood up and walked out to the young woman that acted as the lab's office manager. "Justine? Someone from the FBI is going to be calling within the next thirty minutes to get your assistance on hotel availability. They're probably going to need help booking a couple of rooms as well. It would be a personal favor to me if you could give them what assistance you can. If that assistance guides them into booking at your Grandmere's extended stay hotel so much the better. If they balk staying in the historic district, tell them the building has all new wiring and upgraded wifi. Are Josef and Thad back yet from that body found in the dumpster down in the French Quarter?"

"Yes ma'am but they had to hit the showers before reporting to you."

Stella shook her head in sympathy. "I can imagine. When they have the funk of Eau de Dumpster under control tell them to meet me in the conference room."

# # # # # # # #

Back in NYC all eyes had been on Adam when he handed the phone off to Mac, unable to verbalize what was happening sufficiently so that Stella wouldn't think she was being pranked.

 _"_ _Mac? What's going on?"_

It had been so long since Mac had heard Stella's voice that it took a moment for him to respond; however, once he did he had Stella on the edge of her seat. After a moment she asked, _"How sure is Adam that they're bringing his girlfriend to New Orleans? And why the hell would he think that? And why the hell didn't I know he had a serious girlfriend? What happened to that Michelle chick Lindsey told me about?"_

Adam heard the question and felt Danny's hand of support easing him down into a lawn chair someone had brought down off the porch. Mac murmured that he would explain the personal stuff later then activated the speaker phone so Adam could answer Stella's question, and explain it to the rest of them at the same time. Adam said, "It's a game we've played off and on since we met … it was just for kicks and giggles at first … creating messages from composers and their song titles. Kenny Loggins … _I'm All Right_. It's the theme from the movie _Caddyshack_ and one of the songs we use the most."

Danny shook his head and muttered, "So that's what she meant." When everyone looked at him he said, "Couple a weeks back we're sitting watchin' a game when we hear this big crash from upstairs. Adam jumps to run and check when we hear Emi calling down the stairwell, 'Sit back down! I'm Kenny Loggins!' I'm wonderin' what in the hell she means when one of the other guys there just shakes his head and says not to even try and figure it out unless I wanted a headache so … you know … I just let it go 'cause … Emi is like … Emi … and she and Adam are real good at not speaking English about half the time."

Adam nodded then continued, "The Fats Domino reference … she was driving me crazy playing it over and over the other day. It was making her cry and it was like prying a state secret out of her to get her to tell me why. Found out it was one of her Da's … I mean her father's … favorite songs. Not only was Fats Domino born and raised in New Orleans, he had a song called _Walking to New Orleans_. And … and Curly Sue …"

Hawkes said gently, "That's an easy one. Stella's hair."

Adam said, "It might also mean she'll try and get word to Stella, or make contact, or leave clues, or …."

Mac patted Adam on the shoulder before asking Stella, "Did you get that?"

"Yeah. Give me the rest of it Mac and you're saying the Feds are involved as well?"

Mac walked off a little ways and quietly gave Stella as much information as he could over the phone while Adam stood up and stumbled inside then up the stairs to the bedroom he and Emi shared.

Agent Fielding followed him and just stood there observing as Adam threw a few clothes into a back pack. Fielding asked, "There's no convincing you to stay here I take it?"

"What do you think?" Adam asked irritated that the man even had to ask.

Fielding sighed. "Very well, but this has to be done my way since we are crossing jurisdictional lines. You …"

Mac found them and said, "Make that two of us."

Fielding just looked blandly before saying sarcastically, "Of course, why on earth would I think otherwise? As I was saying, you'll be far removed from your jurisdiction so I'll be in charge. Having Detective Bonasera as a local contact will definitely help but if we are going to lock down this case and bring the threat to a final conclusion then it needs to be done the right way so no piss ant lawyer can undo our work on a technicality. When we get these crazies I want to be able to dump them down a deep well, lock the cap, and throw away the key."

Mac nodded after giving the man a look. "But we're included in the investigation and kept in the information loop."

With only a brief hesitation Fielding said, "Agreed."

Mac and Fielding left to go attend to their responsibilities and prepare to leave. Adam, without an audience, finally sank onto the bench at the foot of their bed and grabbed Emi's robe that she'd dropped there that morning. He brought it to his face and inhaled her unique scent that reminded him of the flowers his mother used to grow in window boxes when he was a boy. "Hang on Emi. Just hang on. I'm coming. I'm coming and I'll find you."

# # # # # # # #

Emi regained consciousness briefly to find herself trussed up like the Thanksgiving turkey that she'd gotten on sale a couple of days earlier and put in the small freezer in the basement. She wondered briefly if she'd be home in time to cook it … would anyone ever cook it.

She shook her head to disperse the depressing thoughts. The last thing she needed was to get on that kind of thought merry-go-round. But she had to admit that she was scared. The old nightmares of the night she fought Jeannie Scott had returned to plague her while she was in the hospital recovering from her kidnapping by the Missing Heart Killers. Falling off those blasted buildings had hurt. So had the knife that Jeannie had been using to slice her up. The only thing that had helped her focus on surviving was the thought of leaving Reni and Gary to the mercy of a world where the deck was already stacked too high against them. The subsequent threat to them both is what convinced her to steer clear of active criminal cases from that point forward. Adding insult to injury, the plastic surgery to repair the damage done during her fight with Jeannie hurt worse than the fight had. The memory of that pain now motivated her to try and refocus and figure out what was going on; she wasn't totally sure at this point but it definitely had to do with Jeannie. Most of her nightmares seemed to always point back to Jeannie, even if it was just the long way around. Only she had a bad premonition that this time the monster she faced was going to be infinitely worse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jo stopped Mac one last time to ask, "Are you sure about this? You're going to be pretty far from home and regardless of what Agent Fielding said, you're going to be handicapped as far as participating in the investigation. For all intents and purposes all you'll likely be doing is observing."

Mac nodded. "I understand, and yes it will be frustrating, but there's no stopping Adam from going to New Orleans to find Emi and there's no way I'm letting him go alone and unsupervised in his current state."

"Then let Danny go with him."

"No."

"For Heaven's sake why?!"

Mac sighed, knowing he was going to be unable to fully explain it to Jo's satisfaction. "If I had the answer to that I would tell you. Christine understands, maybe she can explain it for me. All I know is that Adam … dammit … I need to see this through with him. I don't know why. I can't explain it. It makes no sense. I'm his boss, not his father. But …"

Jo looked intently at Mac for a moment before giving a small understanding smile. "Maybe you just explained it better than you think." Then shaking herself she demanded in her deep southern drawl, "I expect a call as soon as you touch down and regular updates. Got it?"

Mac shook his head thinking that once again Christine had been right, that Jo would understand even if he didn't fully understand it himself. He said, "Do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Keep an eye on Christine for me? Give her a call every day or so until I can get back. And send Danny or Hawkes over to check on her."

"I'll go one better. That son of mine owes me for too many missed dinners _and_ he works just a block and a half away from Christine's restaurant. I'll have him and his friends swing by to let her know she's got people in the area she can call on if need be."

"Thanks Jo. I'll owe you."

Jo winked at him and said, "You bet your best blazer you will. Now, you do _me_ a favor?"

"Okay?"

"If you need someone to help with Adam … in … just in case … you'll call so one of us can fly down there. I know Danny and Hawkes would in a heartbeat but … strangely I think Flack might be the better choice if it comes to it."

Mac thought and said, "Nothing strange about it. Flack … he's been there. He understands Adam's state of mind."

"That woman he was with? Jess?"

Mac nodded. "Exactly. Though I know Don would never want Adam to go through what he did after Jess was killed he seems to be accepting and understanding the changes in Adam faster and more readily than some of the others." Mac changed the subject and went on to tell her about some of his other existing tasks that would need completing or monitoring while he was out of the office and then left as the driver called up that he was ready to drive him and Adam to the airport. He knew he was leaving the lab in capable hands as Jo had been the temporary supervisor while he'd been recovering from the bullet and the damage it caused after the pharmacy shooting.

Adam was already in the car with the driver that Agent Fielding had provided. In the car with him was Agent Mayberry. Neither man spoke; Adam as he went over Emi's message over and over again to make sure he hadn't missed any clues, Agent Mayberry trying not to feel elated since showing such an emotion under the circumstances would have been gauche in the extreme; but he was excited to finally be given the opportunity to show what he was capable of.

Mac had been forced to stop several times on his way to the elevator as everyone in the lab either needed comforting or was giving him words of comfort to carry to Adam. Finally, on his way down Mac admitted to himself that he was uncomfortable. He wouldn't regret going with Adam and supporting him but It had been a long time since he'd spoken to, much less seen, Stella Bonasera. Christine knew of course. They'd shared a lot of their pasts since coming together and Stella had been a very meaningful part of his over many years. He and Stella hadn't parted under the best of circumstances. Her departure had been so abrupt and unexpected that it had taken him a while to even admit to himself that he had regrets. But life continued and regretful or not you couldn't go back and change the past. Frankly he wasn't even sure if he wanted to since he was happy with how his life had turned out. But still, seeing her face to face after so long … Christine had said she trusted him and he would never betray her, but he prayed his thoughts held as much fidelity to Christine as his body did.

# # # # # # # # #

"Detective Bonasera?"

"Thad, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Stella?"

Thad Dupree shrugged. "Kinda hard for this old dog to learn new tricks. At least this kind. You're the Boss Lady."

Stella rolled her eyes. "I'm older than you are so knock it off," she told him with a smile.

"What about them New Yorkers headin' our way? You worked with them, yes?"

Stella nodded. "Mac Taylor was and is head of the NYC Crime Lab. Adam Ross … let's just say if I thought it was worth the effort and we had it in the budget, I'd have been trying to sweet talk him into joining our lab. The man has a way with anything in an AV lab and specializes in reconstruction tasks that would drive most people over the edge. I've seen him rebuild some amazingly shattered items … and actually be able to pull usable prints or even electronic data from the result. He also has a master's degree in biochemistry."

"Egghead is he?"

Stella laughed at the very idea. "No. Adam … let's say Adam is hard to categorize. Yes, he's brilliant but … well he'd remind you of a male version of Willis. Ipod and all."

Thad's eyes widened. "Dear God. I'll put the lab on notice. Last thing we need is anything else blowing up."

Stella smiled fondly but a little sadly, "Adam isn't quite that bad, and he's a few years older than Willis, but from what I hear … he may be different from the way he was when I was still working with him." Becoming more serious she added, "Certainly he and this young woman he is involved with have gone through their share of problems. Was Josef able to put together a report on Dr. Emerald O'Ryan for me?"

"That he has. And as it turns out I've actually met the woman."

"What?! When?"

"Right before you came to be our Boss Lady I went to a conference in Pennsylvania put on by the Journal of Forensic Science. She was one of the speakers."

"What was her topic?"

"How important it was to not become completely reliant on computer generation for facial reconstruction and identification. Pretty interesting stuff. Just one session and she became a favorite of a lot of the forensic artists that were there. Many were starting to lose their jobs to the new computer programs but Dr. O'Ryan gave several examples of how even the most sophisticated of today's computer algorithms could incorrectly extrapolate from data points and wind up with something completely different from the actual subject under construction looked. I've run into it a few times myself in this area because of the prevalence of bi-racial and bi-ethnic mixing causing some of the skeletal features to create misleading assumptions. Don't even want to get into some of them families that live out in the bayous that are … let's call it a tad inbred."

Stella nodded having run into it herself. Populations remained static less and less these days and you couldn't assume that just because a skeleton exhibited some racial characteristics that that was the only genetic influence that impacted appearance. One thing was for certain, she'd found that skin tone in and around New Orleans wasn't always dictated by the obvious racial features, and it made a difference when putting an APB or BOLO out. Speaking of …

"Did we get a description of the perps from the feds? I'd like to make sure it goes out with all of the field personnel and I want all of our community of birdies on alert so they can pass the information along to us as soon as possible if they spot anything."

"Already on it and a copy is on your desk."

"You're a good man Thad," Stella told the man causing him to blush beneath his dusky skin. His momma had raised him right and he was respectful of women but it was awful hard not to notice what a beautiful female his boss was. From the start she had reminded him of one of those marble statues from ancient Greece … patrician features, gorgeous lines, but definitely off limits to be touched for the likes of him.

Stella took the appreciation in stride after figuring out that such was complimentary in this city. It had taken a few months to become accustomed to how most men treated women in the Deep South, it had certainly been different than what she'd experienced in NYC. It was now just part of the landscape and she could enjoy it without having to actively respond to it or discourage it. It was one of the first things she'd learned to appreciate in her new job. Now part of her past was coming back … if not to haunt her, it was certainly going to disrupt her life. She just hoped none of the disruptions proved unpleasant.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Adam?" No response. "Adam?" Mac reached out and nudged Adam's shoulder causing the younger man to jump and turn in his direction, dislodging an ear bud. He fumbled to turn his iPod off but not before Mac recognized Emi's distinctive voice and laugh coming from the small speaker.

Mac sighed and tried to be kind as he said, "Seat belt sign just came on. We'll be landing shortly." Then after a short pause he asked, "Are you ok?"

Adam ran his hand across his eyes. For a moment he thought about bluffing his way out of the question but then decided he needed to be honest. "I don't know Mac. This is too much like a repeat of last time. It makes me want to do something outrageous like put a GPS chip in Emi or something after we find her. Jesus I … I don't know what I'll do if she is hurt as badly as she was before; she's not fully recovered and the doctors …" This time he ran his hand through his hair, gripping it momentarily like he wanted to rip it out in frustration. The moment passed however and he asked, "Do you think Stella will meet us at the airport?"

Mac shrugged. "Depends on what else is already going on in her office. Adam … you're certain that …?"

"Mac, I'm certain that Emi thought she was being taken to New Orleans. I just wish we knew if it was by plane or vehicle or just what."

Mac had already given it some thought and discussed it with Agent Fielding. "Unless they hire a private plane they'll have to move her by vehicle, at least most of the way. Mayberry has already forwarded what pictures we have of the suspects to Stella. I'm sure she has already instructed everyone to be on the lookout for anyone matching that description, particularly anyone new to the area or that doesn't belong."

Adam, experiencing an OCD moment, started citing statistics. "New Orleans has a population of less than 400,000 but encompasses 350 square miles, but the New Orleans metropolitan area has over a million people and encompasses several smaller cities like Kenner and Metairie. That doesn't even begin to touch the outlying areas …"

"Adam!" Mac said forcefully.

Adam took a deep breath. "Sorry Boss."

"Don't be. But let's focus on the positives before getting bogged down in negatives."

Adam closed his eyes and actively sought to control his breathing and refocus his thoughts. Opening his eyes he said, "Biggest positive is Emi herself. She can be creative as hell. If it's possible for her to send us a clue she will. If it is possible for her to escape unassisted she will. She's a survivor. No matter the strange situations she's found herself in, she … she comes out … she …" Adam had to force himself to breathe normally once again. "Emi's a survivor regardless of the circumstances she's found herself in."

Mac nodded encouragingly. "Exactly. We also have a great deal of information on the suspects at our disposal that could very well …"

They continued to speak quietly in that vein as the plane landed. Mac only had to wipe his sweaty palms on his pants once and thankfully Adam was so engrossed in his own nervousness that he didn't notice Mac's … or wonder at the reason for it.

# # # # # # # # # #

Stella could not believe how nervous she was. Even to herself her hands felt like they were gloved in ice despite the fact that the temperature was hovering in the mid-80s and muggy as a swamp. "Honestly woman, get a grip. They're friends not the Baboulas. Just because you haven't seen either of them in over three years doesn't mean that anything has changed."

But things _had_ changed. She'd grown discontent with her life in NYC and had purposefully _made_ things change. It had been both frightening and exhilarating and she wouldn't ever go back to the way things were but that didn't mean she didn't have some regrets. She wouldn't be human if she didn't have _some_ regrets. Especially with the abruptness of her departure. She'd kept in contact with Lindsey Messer, still did for that matter, though neither of them wrote or called as often as they once had. Such was life. But perhaps today would be easier if she'd taken care to address some of her regrets sooner.

She wondered what they would see, would they even recognize her? Stella briefly laughed at herself. Of course they would, how foolish to think otherwise, but there were things about her that were different. She'd turned forty, a well-preserved forty certainly, but her mirror told her she was no longer the woman she had been in NYC. It wasn't just age leaving its mark on her, being the head of the New Orleans crime lab and all of the associated responsibilities of her position added to the loss of softness she'd once had in her face and eyes. She'd also found her first gray hair and had briefly contemplated a dye job before feeling ridiculous and reminding herself that natural was much more her style. Her figure was still long and lean, she still kept her dancer's physique, but it took more work than it had even last year to maintain it. She wasn't unhappy with the differences in her body but it did cause her to accept that she'd probably hit the snooze button on her biological clock too many times and needed to rethink the part of her future she'd once taken so much for granted.

Not maudlin by nature she was easily distracted from her thoughts at the first sight of Mac and Adam coming into the waiting area outside their arrival gate. Her eyes met Mac's and for a moment time stood still as so many memories poured through their minds. Then they both grinned; part nostalgia, part real pleasure at seeing each other again. That was one worry neither had to suffer anymore. She walked forward and grabbed both men in a huge bear hug. "Oh my God, it is so good to see you two … though I wish it was under different circumstances."

She trailed off in surprise as Adam grabbed her in a tight hug and whispered, "Please Stella … please help me find her."

Immediately all personal thoughts and concerns flew away and Stella looked at Mac with real concern over Adam's shoulder. The seriousness of Mac's expression had Stella patting Adam's back and saying, "Let's get you two to your hotel so you can …"

"No," Adam said stubbornly as he released her. "Fielding said he'd meet us at your office. He should be there by now."

As if on cue Stella's phone rang and it was Justine letting her know that the federal agent had just arrived.

"Mac?"

Even though he was tired and it was late in the day he knew there'd be no rest until Adam had at least spoken to Agents Fielding and Mayberry to see if there were any new developments.

"We'll take a taxi if you have other responsibilities."

Stella gave Mac a mock glare and then a huge, understanding smile before leading them out of the airport to her car – neither man had bothered checking luggage but instead had a carry-on bag over their shoulder. "Have you eaten?" Stella asked.

Adam's attention had wandered to the skyline and he prayed Emi was there, somewhere, and unharmed. Mac shook his head silently once again communicating to Stella how deeply concerned he was for Adam's state of mind.

For her part Stella was having a difficult time not reaching out and pulling Adam to her to comfort him. She didn't however because one, it wouldn't have been appropriate and would have raised more questions than she was comfortable answering, especially to Mac. And two, she wasn't sure how receptive Adam would have been to the action after all this time. She'd never really forgotten the one night stand they'd had but she always wondered if Adam had really accepted it wasn't something that should have happened or if he'd simply been following her lead and had never broached the subject again. She'd needed what he'd offered … the simple acceptance and support of another warm, understanding body in the aftermath of the trauma their entire team had suffered. In memory of that she wondered what she could now offer him in return.

"Adam? You need to eat."

"Not hungry."

"Maybe not, but you still need to eat. I'm sure Emi wouldn't …"

"You don't even know her."

His abrupt tone startled Stella. Mac interjected himself and said, "No. But I do and Stella is right, Emi is all about the … er … 'nutritional genius' aspect of things."

Adam looked at Mac and calmed down. "Yeah. She is. Okay. I'll eat. Otherwise she'll fuss when she finds out. Geez will she fuss."

Mac looked at Stella and silently nodded to tell her he'd explain things better as soon as they had some privacy. In the meantime, he helped Adam get in the back of Stella's car before he climbed into the front at Adam's insistence.

Adam once again put his earbuds in and hit play on his iPod, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Stella looked over at Mac and whispered, "I've never seen him like this."

"An explanation is going to take more time and privacy than we have at the moment," Mac whispered back. "Just let me get some food in him, meet with Fielding, and then hopefully he'll be willing to go to the hotel and crash for at least a couple of hours."

"Is this woman really worth the torment he's obviously going through?" Stella wanted to know.

Without hesitation Mac answered in the affirmative. "You just have to see them together to really understand."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Rather than take them to a restaurant since it was the dinner hour and tourists would have most places packed out, Stella called a little hole in the wall named the Sassafras Café that was around the corner from the Crime Lab on Lakeshore Drive. They didn't normally deliver but one of the servers there was related to Thad and agreed to bring a catered platter of food over. She would have paid for it but upon discovering that she'd included them in the order, Agent Fielding insisted on picking up the tab and adding a good sized tip that had the kid practically floating back to his car.

Thad looked at the agent and smiled. "That boy's momma is gonna wonder what he's been up to when he hands her his tips for the night to put into his college fund."

The agent just shrugged. "I've walked in his shoes. Food service sucks but you do what you have to to pay the bills." At Thad's interested look Fielding shrugged. "I didn't want to go into the family business so my father said that I could go out and earn what I needed to on my own without his help. Said it would make a man out of me."

"Did it?"

With a twisted smile the agent responded, "I don't know but it sure gave me a lot of respect for good arch support."

After chuckles all around and having proven himself to be human, the federal agent was more easily accepted by the others and after everyone began to eat … though Adam was more picking at his food than consuming it … Agent Fielding started out by saying, "I'm not here to tell you how to do your job. You wouldn't be here if you didn't already know how. I'm not here to interfere with any existing cases, frankly they're none of my business. I'm not here to overshadow your office on this one either. Yes, I'm Lead but my objective is to work together, not hog all the glory or get all the credit."

Adam growled, "This isn't about glory or any of that crap. This is about rescuing Emi."

Becoming serious Agent Fielding said, "Agreed. We're here to find Dr. Emerald O'Ryan … with the goal of that being before any harm befalls her … and arresting her captors so that they can be tried for their crimes."

The facts of the case were reviewed for the benefit of Stella and her team and before Adam could lose patience Agent Fielding said, "I'll let Mayberry here give an update on the newest information and then perhaps Stella, some of your team might have some suggestions or observations."

Mayberry, a little nervously though he covered it well, said, "We got lucky and Det. Don Flack of the NYPD followed up on the report of a stolen rental van rented by a couple matching the general description of the male and female suspects that attacked Agent Hutchins and kidnapped Dr. O'Ryan. The rental office required a thumbprint on the rental documents and it's been collected and being run through multiple databases now. They also had a closed circuit security system – that contrary to local ordinance was not posted on the property so it is likely the couple did not know it was there – and the hard drive is being analyzed and put through facial recognition software. The woman is most likely Tammy Castle but the male is a new player. Blood was recovered from the kidnapping scene and is being cross referenced with known samples from previous cases."

Adam asked, "Could the male be the younger son of Eudora Scott?"

Agent Fielding answered, "No. He looks about the right age but the wrong coloring and build. Just to be on the safe side however I am having the youngest boy's whereabouts confirmed through Interpol."

Thad asked, "How likely is it that they've made it to here?"

Mayberry explained the most recent theory. "Even if they started within moments of kidnapping Dr. O'Ryan that's over 1300 miles they need to travel. Two drivers driving straight through, that's still going to require at least 20 hours on the road, and that doesn't include stopping for fuel or food. It's only been a little over half that in terms of hours so the earliest we expect them to arrive is tomorrow around mid-morning."

Josef said, "Assuming they don't mix it up by driving _and_ flying."

Fielding nodded. "Always assuming that but there is some evidence that their financial resources are shrinking and hiring a private flight where no questions would be asked would likely be cost prohibitive. What I suggest is that we break for the night, try and grab some sleep, and then get an early start of it tomorrow. I need to check in with my people in DC and I'm sure Mac that you and Stella also have responsibilities to address."

Adam opened his mouth briefly then closed it and slumped lower in the chair he was sitting in. Fielding and Mayberry were explaining about the resources at their disposal so that some pressure could be taken off of Stella's staff and then Mac got Adam to his feet and out, once again, to Stella's car so that they could go to their hotel.

Traffic made the drive a little slower than was comfortable in the silent car and it didn't get much better as Mac checked them in and Stella helped get Adam to their rooms. Stella's last sight of Adam was the man fully clothed and face down on the hotel bed and Mac taking off his converse tennis shoes and covering him with the bed spread.

Stella wasn't sure what to make of that and didn't know how to bring it up but Mac made it easy on her as they went through the adjoining door to his own hotel room, closing the door softly behind them. Looking at Stella and shaking his head Mac said, "I know. Ok, I know. All I can tell you is that Adam needs me here and I need to be here for Adam. Beyond that I'm not sure there is an explanation, at least not one that can be made in few words. Certainly not one that isn't embarrassing for either one of us. If I examine it too closely …"

Stella shook her head. The strange thing was that part of her _could_ see what was going on. Mac and Adam had always had this subtle father/son/mentor/student vibe to their interactions despite Mac's often rigid professionalism attempting to hide it. Stella assumed that it must have intensified since she'd left the team. But the way Adam was acting at this point? "My god Mac … Is this Adam's new normal? What's going on?"

It took almost two hours but Mac finally brought Stella up to speed about what had been happening in Adam's life, from his father's Alzheimer's to Michelle and the baby to what Mac knew of his relationship with Emi and then what he knew of Emi's past and present.

"And that's it in a nutshell," Mac said, sipping on a Gin Fizz that the hotel had sent up as one of the local specialties.

"Nutshell? Are you kidding me?! That's gotta be the biggest damn nut I've ever heard of … if not the whole damn tree."

Mac snorted a tired chuckle. "Agreed."

"And you're serious that Adam has really changed that much. That … that he's actually better than he was?"

"As a heart attack Stella. He can still irritate the hell out of a brick wall but it isn't as often and the quality of his work and how he is managing the lab techs … I'm proud of him, I really am. Especially given what he's been going through during that same period. He and Kendall are even getting along these days which even I admit is hard to believe. What you are seeing right now is … is shock … shock and anger." Mac sighed. "And fear. Emi was already having difficulty processing the limitations her previous injuries were leaving her with. Truthfully, this thing with Emi … it's not highlighting his weaknesses but emphasizing his strengths but everyone has their breaking point and I'm concerned for both of them right now. Emi is good for Adam … personally and professionally. As I said before, you really need to see them together to understand the dynamic."

Doubtfully Stella opined, "She sounds like a hot mess."

On the one hand Mac wanted to laugh but on the other his chest burned with concern for the young woman he'd become so unexpectedly fond of. "She can be but at the same time … let's just say even Hawkes has trouble keeping up with her once she finds her … er … groove."

Knowing Hawkes as she did Stella said, "I find that hard to believe."

"I know but, it's true," Mac insisted.

Thinking for a moment Stella shrugged, "Well I will admit that that was a hell of a trick to get her destination across to Adam right under the nose of her kidnappers."

"They do have an … er … unique way of communicating. Ask Danny. First time he met her was in the lab breakroom and they freaked everyone out except for Hawkes who finally managed to break the weird code they were using to discuss the Missing Hearts serial case."

Both of them fell silent and the silence slowly became uncomfortable. Mac finally felt compelled to say, "Stella … can I ask you something?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Accepting the inevitable Stella said, "Of course."

"Were you that unhappy?"

Stella looked at Mac then tucked a curl behind her ear, preparing herself for what was coming. "Mac, I've asked myself that so many times and come up with so many different answers that I've had to realize that was never the best question to begin with. The better question would be _what_ was I unhappy with."

"Or _who_?" Mac asked trying to hide how her answer made him feel.

Stella sighed. "Oh Mac."

"I'm serious Stella. You were there one day and then gone the next. We come back from the lighthouse and you left your resignation on my desk then wouldn't even discuss it. If you hadn't been working a case, you wouldn't even have given a two-week notice."

With some irritation evident Stella responded, "You replaced me fast enough."

Mac blinked. "You didn't really just say that did you?"

Stella shrugged unsure whether she meant Aubrey, Jo, or Christine … or even whether she meant personally or professionally. She finally answers after taking a good sized sip of the whiskey in her glass. "I wanted a change. No … I needed a change. Things had been building for months, longer than that if I'm honest with myself. The trouble in Greece, finding things out about my parentage, Jess getting killed, Danny getting shot, the aftermath of that, Shane Casey and his insanity, the fact that we were coming to loggerheads more and more often over differences that shouldn't have existed … all of it. I took a good long look at my life and re-evaluated where I was going … where _I_ wanted to be in the future. It left me with some inescapable conclusions. As much as I loved … my life … in NYC it was strangling me, forcing me to put my goals on hold to address … other things. I needed to step away, move away, if I was ever going to be more than a shadow of what I could be."

Somewhat mulishly Mac told her, "You could have stayed in the city but changed jobs."

"Yes, I could have if I wanted to give up the idea of professional advancement," she admitted, looking deep into his eyes. "But the temptation to … to settle for what I could get would have still been there. Moving away … far enough away … was the only chance I had of finally breaking free and moving forward and reach _my_ goals."

Shocked at how blatantly she'd said it Mac strangled on his next words. "Aw dammit Stella. I never … never meant to … to …"

Stella was tempted to reach out as she always had in their past interactions but that was no longer her place. She was a little surprised, and perhaps a little sad as well, to find it wasn't quite as difficult to hold back as she had thought it would be. "I know you didn't. And when it wasn't you, it was me. We were always out of sync in that respect."

"Regardless of where we were, or who we were with, we were always friends," Mac said stubbornly trying to hold onto his views of how things had been.

"Hell yes we were," Stella said with absolute certainty. "The best of friends. And I didn't want to lose that."

"You couldn't."

Stella chuckled though it wasn't a funny laugh. "Oh yes … yes I could have. Was already losing it. The longer I stayed the … the angrier I seemed to get."

Trying his best to understand Mac asked, "At what?"

"At nothing … everything … at my life … the lack of one … my own damn biological clock and other things I wasn't really ready or willing to face. I was growing tired of searching for something but never finding it. Or thinking I found it only … only for it to blow up in my face."

"That ass Frankie Sala wasn't your fault."

"No, but at the same time the warning signs were there and I of all people should have seen them. My life was nothing but fillers and stand ins, few if any of them anymore willing to give up their personal goals than I was so I knew they were safe, that I could drop them if … something better … came along. But that's only part of what I'm talking about." Stella finally laid it out. "Had I stayed in NYC I would always have been runner up, second string … second place. Or treating someone else that way. And knowing that, I never would have been as truly happy as I'm capable of being, my full potential never reached."

Mac drew in a sharp breath then slowly exhaled. Stella could sometimes turn her frankness into a weapon but he didn't think that is what she meant this time … she was simply being brutally honest and laying it on the table for him to see what he'd obviously missed back then. It still took him a moment before he could ask tentatively, "Have you found what you were looking for here? Are you happy?"

With a half-smile Stella said, "I'm working on it. What about you? Are you happy?"

A perverse part of Mac wanted to deny it but unbidden a vision of Christine's gentle and trusting smile rose in his mind, the quiet personal contentment that was finally filling his days … and his nights. Even before he said anything Stella knew. Mac said quietly, "Yes. Yes I am."

Stella nodded. "Good. You deserve to be happy. I've never wanted anything less for you."

"But where does that leave you? I want the best for you too and if I somehow … drove … drove you to …"

"Mac Taylor," Stella said with nearly a Flack-sized smartass tone. "You are not the center of the whole damn universe. You aren't in charge of me and you didn't drive me anyplace. I make my own decisions and I drove myself. And it was about damn time too. I nearly waited too long to go after that brass ring, because I was waiting around for a golden one." Mac winced but Stella didn't seem to notice as she continued, "And here? I love my job. And while I use a great many things that I learned watching you over the years, when I make mistakes I try and make sure they aren't the same ones that you've made." With a little less bravado Stella added, "Be happy for me Mac. Maybe my life isn't a picture perfect model of traditional womanhood but it satisfies me in a way that was missing in NYC. I've grown in ways I never expected to and I'm proud of myself in ways I never have been before."

Mac wanted to ask another question but when Stella got on a roll explaining things you just had to let her finish. She said, "I was needed when I came here, badly needed. This place was a complete mess, from out of date equipment to the chaos of federal oversight due to a corrupt local government to the damage still unrepaired from the Hurricane Katrina disaster. This lab and my team have come a long way but there are still more improvements to be made and I'm nowhere near ready to turn them over to someone else. Every day I can see I'm still needed. It is what gets me up in the morning, keeps me going during the day, and reminds me to get enough rest at night so that I can do it again the next day. I get more satisfaction out of working on a problem here than I had come to feel after a success back in NYC." Chuckling, Stella said, "They aren't always sure what to make of the hardass, brassy, half Greek/half Italian chick with the Brooklyn accent but they still need me. And I'm working on finding the rest of my happiness, even if it ultimately doesn't include a traditional happily-ever-after. I've certainly made some new friends."

"Any of those friends male?"

Stella blinked and then threw his own words back at him, "You did not just ask that question."

Mac smiled more than a little embarrassed by his curiosity … and need to know that she was ok. "Yeah … yeah I did."

Stella bit her lip before answering honestly. "There's someone that holds possibilities but it's … complicated. I'm a lot more cautious than I used to be. I need to be more cautious than I used to be. I have more to lose."

"Who …?" Mac never finished his question and the remainder of the discussion was left incomplete as there was a crash in the other room.

Mac rushed in, hand on his holstered gun … Stella _had_ drawn hers … and they both found Adam staring daggers at his phone. When he turned to look at them his eyes were ablaze with a fury neither of them had ever seen in those particular orbs.

"I'll kill 'em Mac … I swear if they hurt her one more time I'll kill 'em. With my bare hands if I have to."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Adam was still pacing restlessly an hour later. They hadn't had to wait more than a few minutes for Fielding and Mayberry to show up because they were staying at the same hotel, just on a different floor.

"Tell me again," Fielding told Adam.

Adam, barely hanging onto his patience and not alienate the agent even though he knew he was only doing his job, rubbed the back of his neck trying to alleviate the stressed induced stiffness that had settled there. "I was laying across the bed … not asleep, not awake, not thinking … just … just zoning. Listening to … stuff … on my iPod. My phone rang. I didn't recognize the number or the area code but I answered it out of habit. I get the connection and the first thing I hear is whimpering. I know the sound because … because sometimes Emi has … nightmares. I know the sound because of the pain she was in while she was in the hospital and during physical therapy afterwards. Before I can say anything a woman's voice comes on the line and says …" Adam's breathing gets a little heavy and he struggles to control himself. "And says that it's only the beginning. Then there was … some metallic sound … grinding or turning or something … and … and then Emi screams." Adam shudders. The idea of something happening to Emi to cause her to make that … that sound … like she was being torn apart …

Agent Fielding grunts exhibiting his own waning patience and then pinches the bridge of his nose before growling, "Mayberry, have they traced the number yet?"

Mayberry stammers and Adam says, "Get me to a computer, I'll do it."

"We have to be careful not to …"

Snarling, Adam snapped, "Then have someone stand over the top of me and monitor my every move for all I care. Vid clip it for posterity. Just get me to a damn computer terminal so I can access …"

Stella seeing that Adam needed to do something constructive or lose his cool even more said, "Grab a jacket. We'll go to the lab and you can meet Willis."

"Who's he?"

Stella gave a quick wink at Mac, letting him know that she'd watch Adam for a while so he could work with the agents. Answering Adam she said, "He is a she and she's always reminded me of a certain Lab Rat I once worked with in NYC."

After the two left and Fielding was sure that Adam wouldn't overhear he turned to Mac. "Something has changed."

"Agreed. They tried to stage it as if Emi had gone off willingly in the beginning. Now they're calling Adam and letting him hear them torturing Emi. Question is, what does it mean?"

# # # # # # # #

Emi crawled to the bushes, dragging her right leg, where she tried to puke but there was nothing coming up no matter how her body tried to force something out. She didn't know whether to be grateful that the man had put her shoulder back in its socket or not. She'd never forget the sound her body had made when the new woman had used the vice to bend and dislocate her shoulder, or the sound it had made when the dislocation had been reversed on orders of the first woman. The only thing keeping Emi from running screaming into the night was the fact that the new woman had bolted some kind of metal leg brace from just above her knee to just below her ankle. It meant she couldn't bend that leg below her hip at all. At this point she could barely move much less walk or run with enough speed to escape.

The arguing behind her continued.

"You're not the boss of me Jenifer, I'm older than you."

"Of course I'm not the boss of you Jewel, but Mother certainly is. She's not going to be at all happy that you've disrupted her plans. You weren't even supposed to meet us yet. Now they'll know That One didn't just run off like they were supposed to believe."

"They were never going to fall for that."

"Oh yes they would. Mother said so."

The woman named Jewel rolled her eyes. In a sing song voice she muttered, "Mother says this and Mother says that. Mother, Mother, Mother." She then says a very vulgar curse causing the other two to gasp in shock.

"Jewel!"

"Will you grow up already! You need to realize something Jenifer, Mother isn't as all-knowing and all-powerful as she wants you to think she is."

"Shut up!"

"No! I won't!"

"Oh yes you will 'cause you're wrong. Mother has gotten everything right so far! And soon we'll be a family again when we get Jeannie! Mother says so! And then everything will be right and we'll go someplace nice and never have to do any of this stuff ever again!"

"You … are … so … stupid!" Aiming a kick at Emi that catches her in the stomach and helps what little bit is down deep to finally be vomited up. "We're already a family. We don't need Jeannie. We never have. She's the one that ruined things by going after That One in the first place. We could have gotten Baby Brother and then moved on to The Cabin and lived happily ever after if not for Jeannie being … _crazy_."

The word caused Jenifer to gasp once again. "Mother will really have something to say about you using that word again. You know how she feels."

"Yeah, yeah. Like I care what Mother says anymore. She let me rot in that hospital for years … FOR YEARS! And that was the second time. I might forgive her for the first time since she didn't know where those people had kidnapped me to and spent all that time and money to find me but the second time? She knew where I was and left me there! LEFT ME THERE!"

Trying to calm her sister Jenifer said, "You were out of your head with grief Jewel. Mother tried everything but you … you … you were hurting yourself. You were still reacting to that poison they'd been giving you for so long. Mother would have kept on trying to help you but you were the one that ran away to town and then got picked up. You can't blame Mother when you were the one that ran away."

"I wouldn't have run away if she hadn't brought that … that Maggot … into the house. He looks just like our sperm donor."

"Hey!" the young man cried. "I don't look like him … I don't! I'm nothing like him!"

"You look just like him Maggot. Why Mother decided to keep you after she found out about you I'll never understand. We don't need you!"

The young man looked contrite. "I'm nothing like him. If I'd been there and he started to hit you I would have killed him. You wouldn't have had to do any of it Jewely … I would have done it. He was a monster. If I knew where he was buried I'd dig him up and chop him up for you and … and …"

Suddenly calm Jewel said, "Don't be stupid. I already chopped him up. But thanks." She gave him a one-armed hug that had the young man practically worshipping at her feet. "I wish you had been there then maybe the other Brothers wouldn't have turned out so … disappointing."

Jenifer was still debating calling Mother and Jewel could tell. Jewel told her, "It doesn't matter whether you call her or not, the deed is already done."

"Maybe they'll think it was a prank call."

Jewel shrugged like she could care less either way. "Maybe. Hey, I'm hungry, let's ditch the van, throw That One in the trunk of the car, and go grab something to eat. I want a strawberry shake."

Jenifer said, "They give you spots."

The young man, still in the throws of adoration, said, "Aw, let Jewely alone. She can have any kind of shake she wants. We can use the money from the wallet of that man we knocked off at that rest stop."

Jewel's eyes grew wide and then a wicked grin appeared on her face. "Well, well, well … perfect Jeannie pulled a naughty. Now I wonder what Mother will say to that?"

Worried Jeannie begged, "Don't tell Jewel. Pleeease? It wasn't me, it was Jimmy. He thought the guy was … you know … _bothering_ me. And he acted before I could stop him. No one saw and we hid the body really well, just like you taught us."

Jewel knew a prime opportunity when she saw it. "Wellllll, maybe I won't … if you don't tell on me. Mother just doesn't treat you very well … she acts like you're a know-nothing when you're the one that has the nursing degree and takes care of us like that. It really is a shame she doesn't give you more credit when you support her so much. Now let's get going. Maggot … go get That One and do what I said with her."

Despite knowing it was useless Emi tried to escape when the three deranged siblings came towards her but just as she'd known, she was quickly overpowered and thrown in the trunk of the car that the one called Jewel had met them in. She was silenced by another jolt from the electric clacker that caused her to bang her head on the tire iron.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

On the car ride to the New Orleans crime lab Adam was very subdued. Stella wasn't sure what to say but Adam started the conversation for her. "I'm … I'm sorry."

"Adam …"

"No really Stella … I'm sorry. I guess I've kinda put you on the spot. Not to mention I'm acting like I'm PMSing all over the place. It's just … dammit. This thing with Emi, it's tearing me apart. You haven't been around … you don't know what we've already gone through. This is just … my God …"

Trying not to say the wrong thing Stella made a face and said, "Well … let's just say you have reason to be upset and it excuses what you've done thus far. But Sweety … you need to … how to put this …"

"I get it Stella. I'm trying." Adam sighed while rubbing his forehead.

Stella nodded in understanding then said, "Tell me about Emi."

"Mac say anything?"

"He seems to like her."

Adam relaxed a little which Stella found slightly strange. She was used to Mac making Adam more nervous not less so.

"Emi is … different."

"Mac explained that part of it as well. What I want to know is how you feel about her."

Adam answered so quickly that there was absolutely no doubt in Stella's mind that he meant what he was saying, "She's my breath and my sunshine. I never feel less … less anything … when I'm with her. She's been there for me in so many ways even before we …"

When Adam sputtered to a close Stella suggested, "Got together?"

"Yeah. And it's not just sex … 'cause there's not any. Sex I mean. Well … there's actually some sex but we've got ground rules and only go so far. We're getting there but I'm not taking any chances with her health … or in having a kid until we're set and ready. Emi would never pull a Michelle on me but I also don't want to pull a Danny/Lindsey and as hot as we can make each other we're bound to forget to use protection at least once in a while."

Stella's mouth fell open and she had a hard time keeping the car on the road. "Jesus Adam."

"Uh … TMI?"

"I … well … I guess I asked but …" If the situation hadn't been so serious Stella would have laughed in relief. Adam may have changed, but he hadn't changed completely beyond recognition. Things still sometimes fell out of his mouth with little to no thought about how appropriate they were.

Adam blundered on. "I guess I just thought with you being a girl … I mean woman … definitely woman … would appreciate …" Suddenly a picture of Stella getting dressed and leaving the hotel room they'd shared entered his mind and his face turned bright red. "Uh … shutting up now. Forget I said anything. Totally forget. Geez … as if I never started talking in the first place."

It was only a moment more before Stella pulled into the crime lab's parking area. After shutting off the engine turned to Adam. "You love her? Is it the real deal?"

"Yeah," Adam said quietly, like he was revealing a piece of his soul.

"Then continue to love her and believe that she feels it and will hang on to that no matter what happens."

Adam looked at her then took a breath like it hurt as he looked down at his shoes. "You're trying to tell me to be realistic. That something might have already happened or that something could happen."

Sighing Stella said, "Yes Adam, I am. I'm not going to explain it because you work it every day. It wouldn't be right to sugar coat it. You've seen it, sometimes there is no way to sugar coat it. Having it be someone you care about doesn't change the reality of the situation. We'll all do everything we can to find your Emi but you still have to be realistic."

Adam was in danger of losing his composure and a year ago he would have but he wasn't the same man he had been. Or he was the same but he felt he'd been forced to do the one thing his father had never been able to force him to do … toughen up.

Stella saw him struggling but before she could offer a hug of comfort, Adam squared his shoulders and opened his door and stepped out onto the pavement. Stella felt she'd missed an opportunity but had to give Adam points for finding an inner strength and pulling it to the surface.

She led him into the lab and then down a long hall to their version of a lab. As he looked around she said, "It's not fancy but it's home. Everything works even if the equipment is a little out of date. At least I've been able to replace the stuff that used to be held together with duct tape and drywall screws."

Adam shrugged and said, "It's not necessarily what you have to work with, but the people doing the work, that makes the difference."

Surprised … or maybe not … at Adam's insight she caught a glimpse of a pale face hiding out in the shadows. "Willis? Come out so I can introduce you. Adam Ross meet Willis Sparks. Willis, Adam works in the NYC crime lab and is here on a case."

A young woman with hair so pale it was almost white, and skin to match, stepped forward. The hair was cut in a short bob and held back with a green ribbon revealing delicate ears and pixie-like features. The overall impression he got was youthful earnestness held together with nervous energy though her eyes put him on guard because they reminded him too much of someone in the midst of designing a prank. Adam looked her over as she did the same to him. Then he asked, "Anyone ever told you that you look like Tinkerbell in a lab coat?"

Willis rolled her eyes. "A few times. Anyone ever tell you that you look like a young Kris Kingle?"

Adam snorted and said, "A few times. Plug me in?"

Willis turned to look to Stella for guidance. "If Jorge is gone set Adam up at his work station. He needs to run a phone number."

Within just a few minutes Willis was looking at Adam like he had suddenly become interesting but she wasn't getting a reaction to her interest. She didn't see a ring so she turned to Stella. Stella saw the problem immediately. Willis was used to being one of the few tech savvy females in the room and the geeks usually paid her plenty of attention. Stella beckoned her over and then out into the hallway.

"He's taken." Getting serious she said, "His girlfriend has been kidnapped and that's the case our … er … guests are working on."

"She must be important to get the feds involved."

"Her name is Dr. Emerald O'Ryan."

Willis' mouth fell open. "Oh my freaking gawd! Get outta here! Are you kidding me?! I just saw some of her work at Tulane! She's done this whole series of models on victims of tropical diseases. They are so realistic that some of them you have to have permission to view because … er …" Willis gave a guilty laugh. "Trust me, if you aren't prepared you can get pretty embarrassed. The guy I saw them with was red as a beet by the time we left. I …"

"Stella!" Adam was out of his chair and coming to find her and the amazed look on his face at first alarmed her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Adam?!"

"Stella it has an active GPS signal! Active! Can you believe that?! I gotta call Mac!"

"Adam slow down."

But Willis ran over and looked at the work Adam had pulled up and barked a very unladylike laugh. "You're friggin' jokin'. Stella, it has an active GPS signal … actually … wow …" Willis gave the screen a confused look then asked, "Is that what I think it is?"

Adam nodded, "Yeah. I know a guy … he gave me backdoor access through the phone's carrier. Someone has installed a tracker app. Whoever is using that phone probably doesn't even know it's there. It's one that runs in the background with no obvious signs that it is there."

"You mean you hacked it."

"No. I mean I backdoored it through the carrier. Mac would have my head if I had hacked in. And Fielding would finish off what Mac didn't fry. We won't even talk about what Emi would do … she's got a thing for rules … most of the time anyway. We need this to be a completely clean investigation. No way do I want to give a lawyer anything to chew on."

Stella said impatiently to them both, "Will one of you please explain?"

Adam went back to plugging away as he called Mac to update him so that left Willis explaining that, "It's a tracker app. You know, the kind parents put on their teenager's phone so they can track them … or at least track the phone … without the teenager knowing about it. This particular app runs in the phone's background and can't be easily deactivated by the phone's user because it gets installed by the phone carrier rather than in the phone's operating system. Mom put one of these on my grandmother's phone when Granny started having so many memory problems. This one looks like it's been set to update every … what … minute or so?"

Adam answered as he hung up from talking to Mac who said he'd relay it to Fielding. "Closer to every five minutes. The phone is just north of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Damn that was fast, they must have been flying down the interstate." Adam turned to look intently at Stella. "We got 'em."

"Slow down Adam. We have the phone used to call you."

Willis said, "Aw Stella … don't bust the bubble here."

Stella was about to reprimand the young woman when Adam surprised her. "Actually Stella is right Willis. We need to stick with the facts and follow the evidence … not live on wishful thinking. Our theories need to conform to the evidence, not the evidence to our theories." Adam looked at both women apologetically. "Don't let me do that again please. I'm no good to Emi if I screw up just because I want something to be a certain way so bad I can't see it any other way." He stopped, took a calming breath then said, "This is definitely the phone that called mine. Whether it is still in the possession of the caller is yet to be determined."

Willis looked at Adam with her head tilted like a curious bird but she took the correction he'd delivered better than had Stella given it. And Stella realized that maybe Mac hadn't been exaggerating. In the past Adam had been a CSI that was primarily a lab tech. They'd often teased him about being King of the Lab Rats … of the other lab techs. But now it appeared that the title fit better than anyone ever expected. It was an intriguing glimpse into the man he had become.

# # # # # # # #

Emi was angry. No, she was furious. And she was done being victimized without fighting back. Time, as Adam and his friends would sometimes shout at sports players on the TV, to get her head in the game. She didn't know what was going on. She had only a vague idea of where they were. But she knew where they were heading and she knew what the ultimate goal was … and that they were sacrificing her to reach that goal. Well just no way in heck was she going to cooperate with letting Jeannie Scott out into an unsuspecting world.

First she catalogued what she knew. The first woman's name was Jenifer. Second woman's name was Jewel. They were definitely Jeannie's sisters. She remembered that much from Jeannie herself when she was still "one of the gang" and under Jeannie's influence in foster care. The man's name was Jimmy, maybe short for James. He wasn't one of Jeannie's brothers, she knew that from the original Mortensen investigation file. On the other hand he could be the girls' half-brother … on the paternal side … assuming the information revealed during their arguing was true.

But it was more than words that led Emi to believe that "Jimmy" was a paternal half-brother. Emi knew that Robert Scott had syphilis that was treated before Jeannie's youngest brother was conceived. It was one of the reasons that Jeannie hated her father. Looking at Jimmy's face was proof enough for Emi that he was probably a progeny conceived while Robert was still actively infected. He had several classic signs of congenital syphilis … saddle nose, Hutchison teeth (notches in the center of the incisors), and Dubois finger (a narrowed pinkie fingers) were the three most obvious markers. She'd also seen that he wore hearing aids … hearing deficits were another classic birth defect caused by syphilis. Emi suspected diminished mental capacity but it was hard to tell … anyone living with the craziness that was the Scott family for any length of time would likely have diminished intelligence, especially if it occurred during part of their developmental years. Emi sure as heck felt she'd lost her mind there for a while when she'd been a kid with Jeannie.

Emi was using the information she gathered like she would reconstruction data points. She was trying to build a picture that she could use to her advantage. Jimmy might appear to be the weakest link but she wasn't completely convinced of that despite being easily manipulated by the one called Jewel. Jeannie would appear to be the strongest and most stable at first but Emi doubted that as well. She was far too dependent on "Mother" and was too easily blackmailed. Jewel was the sibling that worried Emi the most; the was sadistic and had zero empathy and conscience.

If Jewel was the one she needed to worry about the most then she was the one that Emi needed to concentrate on being able to defend herself against. She started by trying to define what Jewel's primary damage was. If Jeannie is a sociopath did that make Jewel a sociopath or a psychopath? The DSM (diagnostic manual of mental disorders) considered both conditions an Antisocial Disorder. Emi snorted, wasn't that an understatement. A lot of clinicians didn't even consider there to be a difference between the two diagnoses; however, in Emi's experience with other Serials … historical and modern … she felt that there were. Neither one felt remorse for their actions. Sufferers of both diagnoses often had histrionic disorder characteristics as well … and Jeannie had certainly known how to throw an emotional fit. Jewel did as well. The dislocated shoulder Emi had suffered was a result of one.

Both sociopaths and psychopaths were aggressively narcissistic and had an over-inflated sense of their self-worth, exaggerated even the smallest success, had zero empathy, participated in socially deviant lifestyles, were easily bored and impulsive, and the one that bothered Emi the most was they failed to take personal responsibility for their actions. Jeannie and Jewel hit every one of those markers without even trying.

While psychology didn't differentiate between sociopathy and psychopathy the criminologist did and she'd had this argument numerous times when she'd been asked to review cold case files. The primary difference between sociopaths and psychopaths was that sociopaths tended to be the more disorganized of the two. She had always wondered about Jeannie's diagnosis until she'd spoken to a psychologist who explained that Jeannie had had a structured life forced on her by the foster care system. Had she lived in a different setting, or had she made it to the age of 18 and been forced to survive on her own, her extreme mental disorganization would have been much more apparent. Like Gary and Felicia she probably would have wound up homeless in short order or at the very least lived precariously on the edge of homelessness.

Another difference was that sociopaths had more problems maintaining relationships … at least healthy ones. Jeannie fit that mold with certainty; Emi wondered if Jewel did or if her apparent lack of stable relationships … geez, who was she kidding? The Scott family weren't reconstructions after the fact, they were still flesh and blood people; she wasn't here to fix them but to survive them. What Emi knew she needed to realize is that sociopaths like Jeannie were erratic and spontaneous, especially when it came to violence, but that psychopaths could operate completely different. If Jewel was indeed a psychopath she could have a totally separate agenda from "Mother" and … and … oh crap. Emi was beginning to wonder something and if it was true … if it was true she could be in a lot more trouble than anyone knew.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note** : Chapter 9 already?! LOL! Mac and Stella will continue to have some interesting interactions through the story ... it's not over with until the fat lady sings. Their relationship is too complicated and involved to deal with it in just on chapter or one confrontation. The "Perils of Pauline" for poor Emi aren't over with yet but danger lurks for other characters as well. Adam is slowly pulling himself together while Mac keeps a close eye on him and things will get interesting as the story becomes completely New Orleans-centric. There are a couple of new characters developing in the NOLA crime lab. Thanks for reading and when you get a moment if you could review it would be appreciated. A preview of things coming down the road: (1) CSIFanRider and I are working on a Vegas/NY crossover, not going to give away any of the plot devices just yet but it should be fun and interesting. (2) I've started pulling together all of the "Adam" stories I can find and put them together in a "community" so they are easier to find. (3) There will be a NY/Cyber crossover as well._

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Emi was kicking at the lid of the trunk and the back seats. "Hey! Hey! Unless you want to stink up your vehicle you'll get off at the next rest stop and let me use the bathroom!"

Thirty minutes later Emi felt the vehicle slowing down and pulling off the interstate. She just hoped it was someplace she could leave a clue that would actually be found.

When the trunk was opened she saw they were in a darkened corner of a parking lot and Jeannie held a very sharp machete to her throat. "Not a sound. No misbehaving at all. You're just lucky we needed to stop for fuel."

"Nope. You guys are lucky … I gotta go … like now."

"Climb out. I'm going to take the cuffs off. One funny move and I'll let Jimmy practice on you. He needs the practice … he's still slow and sloppy. And then we'll go get your boyfriend and practice on him too before letting Jewel have him. You reeeeaaaaally don't want Jewel to get involved. I promise you don't."

Emi saw Jeannie lick her lips and something that looked like fear flicker in her eyes. That more than anything let her know that she'd fight to live with everything she had before the weird sisters got anywhere near Adam. The love of her life had a really high pain tolerance – a forced trait taught him by years of abuse – but he was always ashamed that he felt any pain at all and the psychological effects of _that_ did more damage than the injury ever could.

The machete gave Jeannie too much extra length in her reach that combined with the annoying leg brace would make avoiding being sliced and diced impossible. Wordlessly she hobbled towards the truck stop's minimart, behaving like she was just another tired traveler as Jeannie followed close behind. Jewel drove the car to a fuel pump and while waiting in line to use the ladies' room she saw Jimmy jump out and start the pump … OMG they used a credit card?! … and then start cleaning the windows. He really was enamored of Jewel … Emi tucked that fact away and wondered how she could use it.

Finally it was her turn and Jeannie started to go in with her. Emi had seen there wasn't any stalls and would need to have privacy for what she planned. She turned and in full view of the other women standing there posed obscenely and said, "C'mon Honey, you know you like to watch."

Sure enough Jeannie's eyes widened while the other women started gawking. Jeannie snarled through gritted teeth, "You're disgusting. I hope Mother beats you." Nevertheless the woman let her go into the bathroom by herself after she realized there was no way for her to escape undetected.

Emi knew she wouldn't have much time and started scrambling through her pockets that thankfully no one had bothered to go through or empty once they ascertained they were full of nothing but junk. Scrap paper, ping pong balls, a ball of waded up aluminum foil, rubber bands, a few pennies, a roll of old fashioned kiddie gun caps that she'd confiscated from Mrs. Morrisey's grandson when he'd been using them to scare the bejeebers out of a neighborhood cat, and other absolutely insane nonsense that seemed to always find its way into the pockets of whatever she was wearing at the time. There'd even been a frog in there once that had turned into an anatomy lesson when Adam hadn't checked her pockets before tossing a pair of her cargoes in with his jeans. It was the spin cycle that had done the impromptu dissection. Adam had taken one look in the washing machine afterwards and said, "That one is all yours Babe." And walked off. Oh well, she'd felt bad about the poor frog but it had already been injured and half dead from being dropped by a bird anyway and drowning had probably been a mercy, she'd just forgotten to take it out when she'd come in to fix dinner.

That incident was playing through her mind as she fumbled through her pockets but she finally pulled out the midget Sharpie pen that she'd known was in there someplace. Looking for a piece of wall that wasn't already covered in graffiti Emi finally found a blank space nestled between a rude drawing of the male anatomy and the phone number of someone named Lola. The numbness in her fingers barely registered as she wrote …

 _Two women walk into a bar arguing, one was a psychologist and the other a criminologist. The old lady bartender asks, "What are you two fighting about? You know my rules." They tell the older woman, "We're discussing the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath." The bartender has met plenty of strange people but these women are the strangest. "Why would you care about that stuff?" she asks. "Because we're trying to decide whether to kill you now or later."_

Emi then draws a quick cartoon of a woman with a long, exaggerated hair braid where a signature would have gone.

Just then a voice from the other side of the door shouts impatiently, "Are you finished yet? There's other people that need the bathroom you know!"

Emi tucks the Sharpie back into a pocket, straightens her clothes as she flushes the toilet and runs water in the sink. She almost misses a little ink she'd gotten on her hand but soap and a scrub with a paper towels fixes that. She unlocks the door and steps out to find Jeannie pacing and looking worried.

"Geez, so I had a stomach ache. Big deal. I sprayed the bathroom with deodorizer."

That last statement caused Jeannie to blush furiously and push Emi toward the exit and then out to the car where the other two were waiting. Jewel asked, "What's wrong?"

"That One is positively disgusting. Just like Mother said. Absolutely no manners and so uncouth."

Jewel looks at Emi with suspicion and comes toward her. "What did you do?"

"Do? Like I had time to do anything but use the john with Miss Manners over there counting every second and all the other women waiting in line for their turn? Trust me, I would have run if I …"

"No you wouldn't have," Jewel said with confidence. "I saw it. You're too scared for your little boyfriend. And there it is again," Jewel laughed when Emi couldn't control the fear that went through her mind at the thought of what this woman could do to Adam. "You just keep remembering that and things will go much easier on you. Now climb in," she ordered indicating the trunk. "And if you give me any more trouble …"

Emi understood the implied threat and though it grated on her last nerve to comply she did. Her life … and likely Adam's … depended on it.

# # # # # # # # #

A few hours later in New Orleans Adam was still banging away on the computer trying to pull up any possible leads on the Scott family in New Orleans or where they had been prior to that. Willis kept looking at his fingers and shaking her head. Dang the guy was _fast_. She was also taking notes of the few … er … shortcuts he was using. She'd give them a try herself in the future … but she'd try them on a closed system first. Stella was no fonder of hacking than that Detective Taylor fella seemed to be. But she stayed out of reach of the Chestnut haired man. When the phone went dead … was either turned off or ran out of battery or was discarded in some other way … she was pretty sure he was going to pick something up and throw it. Luckily he got a handle on his anger but it still made Willis feel cautious … and glad when the other man … Detective Taylor … had come over and put his hand on the guy's shoulder because it seemed to calm him more than anything else had. Now he was just banging away on the key board rather than banging away on anything else.

Fielding had been on the phone for several minutes and Mac was beginning to get impatient. He didn't wind up having to show it however because the agent sent Mayberry over with an update.

"Uh … Detective … I mean Detectives," he corrected to include Stella. "We've got a new report. The van used in NYC was found abandoned. Prints match the ones we have for both suspects. A third set of prints were found on one of the doors. There was biological material with the prints and that is being run through Codis."

Adam said, "Send a copy to me so I can work on it from this end."

Mayberry looked at Fielding expecting him to deny the request but the Lead Agent surprisingly just nodded like it was no big deal. "Uh … anyway … Dr. O'Ryan's prints were also found." At that Adam turned around and stared causing Mayberry no little amount of nervousness. Those blue eyes of his could be freakishly intense. "In fact we … uh … er … found bits and pieces of Dr. O'Ryan all over the van."

"What?!" Mac growled causing the agent to blanch.

"What … what I mean is she had to be doing it intentionally. Hair, fingernail bits, a piece of what appears to be her t-shirt with her sweat on it. Her fingerprints were left in strange patterns all over the interior … hearts, stars …"

Adam slapped his forehead and said, "… moons, diamonds, four leaf clovers, different letters of the alphabet. Was she able to spell anything out?"

Everyone looked at Adam strangely but Fielding turned away so they wouldn't see his lips twist in a reluctant grin. Emi must have told Adam of some of the pranks she'd pulled at Quantico when she'd been receiving lessons on what to do if she was ever taken captive by a stalker. Mayberry answered, "Damn you two are … are … yeah … anyway … NOLA, CSI, Adam, and Mac. She'd tried to spell something else but must have gotten interrupted or something."

"What was it?"

"Fauc … but obviously that's …"

Adam said, "That's Emi's maiden name. Faucheaux."

Thad who had come back into the office earlier said, "Well obviously I missed the memo. How did a nice little Cajun girl wind up in big ol' bad NYC?"

Automatically as he turned back to the computer Adam said, "Creole. She's Creole on her father's side. Irish on her mother's. You do not want to activate the Creole gene. She's a tiny woman but she can get scary as hell when she starts growling in Creole."

Thad's shoulders started shaking as he tried not to laugh. "Take it you've seen it a few times."

"Not many. For a smart man it would only take once. I … er … yeah … took a couple of times."

Thad wiped his mouth and after a look at Stella had to walk out of the lab less he wanted to get lost in a belly laugh. Stella followed him out. She looked at him with her eyebrow cocked and said, "I take it you know what he's talking about."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Thad nodded, slowly getting a grip on his laughter. Wiping his eyes with his handkerchief he told Stella, "My mother was part French Creole and let's leave it at that. But you know, Faucheaux isn't that common a name. I haven't heard it in years … at least not around here. When I was a boy there used to be a shipping company along the water run by a family of that name. Is she kin to that bunch?"

"Uh … the way you say it doesn't make them sound like good people."

"Aw, I don't mean it that way … jus' they were … well … could be strange or so I heard. Used to be a lot more of 'em but they started dying out say about two generations back. Last couple I heard of were twin brothers that didn't much care for one another. If you want I'll ask my grandmother if she remembers the rest of it. I can't remember the story but seem to recall it was some type of scandal back in the day."

Stella nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. But … keep it quiet."

"You don't trust the girl? You think maybe she's put a cunja on the young man?"

"A spell?" Stella asked with a laugh. "No. Even if Adam didn't catch such a thing I have a feeling Mac would have put a stop to it as soon as he got wind of it. And I don't distrust her exactly, but I don't like so many strange things going on around her."

"Maybe not her fault Cher, some people just attract trouble whether they want to or not."

With a wry grin Stella said, "You're thinking of your brother."

Thad snorted. "As much as I try not to … yeah. Gabe is one of those that attracts trouble and not even going into the priesthood has stopped it. But enough of my family … I'll ask Mamere. There's nothing she likes better than talking about the old times, unless it is a juicy bit of gossip from back then."

Stella smiled, "I love your grandmother. She's nice and spicy."

"She's fond of you too; keeps askin' for me to bring you 'round to the next fais do do."

Stella grinned and said, "Why I'd love to Thad. Thank you for asking." With that she walked … sashayed really … back into the lab leaving poor Thad to try and figure out what had just happened.

# # # # # # #

Emi was beginning to feel really ill when the car made a wide swing and then finally pulled to a stop. The trunk was nearly suffocating and she'd had nothing to eat or drink for over twenty-four hours. The trunk lid was opened, light temporarily blinding her, as Jimmy pulled her out by her braid.

He snickered at her grunt of pain and said, "Makes a nice handle. Maybe you'll swing from it pretty soon."

Jewel, looking bored told him, "Shut up Maggot. Time for her to meet Mother."

"Aw Jewely …"

"Enough," she said in a dead voice that shut him up right away. It gave Emi a queasy feeling to know the woman could create that much fear even in her crazy siblings.

That's when Jewel turned and simply backhanded Emi hard enough to knock her down and draw blood. "Consider that a warning. Be grateful for it because you won't get another one. I'll kill you and damn Mother's plan and damn Jeannie too. You'll do as I say or else. And what I say is there's no use causing a scene; no one in this neighborhood will care. You could strut naked down the middle of the street and they still wouldn't care. You do what you're told, when you're told, how you're told. Any disobedience will result in consequences not just for you but for everyone you care about. Now get up and walk."

Emi had to fight the desire to do the exact opposite of what was being demanded of her because it was the same carrot and stick routine that Jeannie had used back when they were kids. Do what I say … or else. But Jeannie had been good at following through on the "or else" so she figured Jewel would be as well. The last thing she wanted was to bring more trouble down on Adam. But the feeling did reignite her anger, almost to the point of making her lightheaded.

As they marched Emi to the house she recognized they were in what would be known as a blighted neighborhood. Many of the houses on the block were boarded over, had unkept yards, and trash littered the street. The only thing that looked new were the street signs and with one glance she knew exactly where she was … the lower 9th ward of New Orleans.

# # # # # # #

Willis watched the man as he finally succumbed to fatigue. His hands stilled and his head nodded lower and lower until his whiskered chin rested against his chest, moving in time to his breathing, and his eyes closed and stayed that way. Jorge had arrived for the day shift and went to shake the man awake so he could finally get to his desk but Willis stopped him with a hand on his arm and a shake of her head. Quietly she told him, "Use mine and let him sleep."

"Yours? You never let anyone use yours."

"I just offered didn't I? Accept it while you can. This guy …" She stopped and then shook her head. "Let him sleep. I'll go see if his boss is still in the conference room. And don't turn on that techno/punk crap you normally listen to. I have a feeling that today might be the day that Stella grabs your … er … speakers … and tosses them in the dumpster. This is not the time to be testing your boundaries Jorgey-Boy."

The young man thought about it for a moment then nodded, accepting that she might be right. Willis was weird but she usually knew the best times to duck and cover and if she said to walk lightly then it would definitely be a good idea.

Willis walked quietly out of the lab. She was tired herself but it had to be nothing compared to their guests. Stella had gone home for a few hours of rest but had come back the same time as the rest of the day shift then had to leave almost immediately again. Just because the feds were here on this case didn't mean their normal workload stopped delivering itself to their door. Thad and Josef weren't around either so Willis was left looking for the guy that looked so stiff he ironed his shirts by putting them on. There he was. Now to get up the courage to approach the man with the forbidding frown.

# # # # # # # #

Mac sipped on the scalding hot coffee and grimaced at its bitterness despite the cream that had been poured into it. He wasn't fond of cream in his coffee, normally he took it black with two sugars, but apparently this was the native drink so he'd suffer through. Chicory. Mac resisted the urge to shiver. Adam had been swilling the stuff all night but this was the first cup that he had tasted. Good Lord … even the precinct coffee didn't bite back this much. Stella had called it an acquired taste. Mac prayed they weren't here long enough for him to acquire it.

He looked up to see that pale woman … Willis was her name … hovering and trying not to be seen. Stella was right, she was a bit like Adam used to be when he first came to the lab.

"Miss Sparks? Willis isn't it? Did you need something?"

Mac saw her sigh and then square her shoulders like she was about to face an ogre. Not very complimentary to him but he accepted that that was how people often viewed him.

"Uh … your man … Ross … I think he's finally crashed and burned. But … I'm afraid to move him or anything 'cause it might wake him up and we'll just have a big fuss budget on our hands. God he reminds me of my brothers. Pig headed that's what. There's a half way decent cot in the supply room but he wouldn't stop and go take a lie down like a normal man would."

Mac nodded then asked, "Is he in the way?"

"Er … not at the moment."

"Then unless he's in danger of falling out of the chair can I ask you to leave him be for a while longer?"

"Oh … yeah … sure. What I usually do to my brothers. I just figured maybe you'd want to know."

"I do and thank you."

A fiery blush stole across the young woman's pale face and she made a hasty retreat leaving Mac to shake his head.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's Note:** For those that are curious, the link to the community of Adam Ross stories is community/Getting-to-Know-Him-Adam-Ross-in-All-His-Glory/122906/ . If it doesn't show up as an active link, copy and paste the URL into your browser. If you know of a story that you'd like to see included then forward it to me via PM or in the comments section. I have been adding them as I have found them but I'm sure with all of the CSI:NY stories that there are that I've missed some._

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

About thirty minutes later Mac walked into the AV portion of the lab just in time to see Willis contemplating using a mop to prop Adam up so that he wouldn't slide out of the chair. Indeed, Adam suddenly leaned heavily in the other direction requiring Mac to take several swift steps to catch him before he completely tipped over.

"Wha … ?!" Adam groaned, grabbing the desk top and nearly pulling it with him. He blinked and finally regained his balance. "Sorry. More coffee."

Willis shook her head in exasperation. "Nope. Not unless you want me to pull the girl card."

"Uh …"

"Yep. I've got a talent for it. Just look at me … I can do poor-helpless-little-girl really well to create untold amounts of mayhem when necessary. And I have six brothers, four older and two younger. And three of the older ones are cops. So … yeah … I'll call in reinforcements. Of course they'll probably like you because you're as pig headed as they are … but then again I have pictures so they'll do what I say even at risk to their man card."

Adam just blinked at her then at Mac who said, "Willis, can you ask Justine to call a taxi for us? And can you get word to Detective Bonasera that Adam and I are going back to the hotel? I'd appreciate it."

Adam just continued to blink like an owl as Mac fought a smile. At the moment Willis reminded him more of Emi than of Adam regardless of what Stella had said. Luckily Adam responded to her prodding and soon enough they were both on their way to get some rest but with instructions that they were to be called as soon as any development occurred.

# # # # # # # # #

Emi's back was on fire. She'd been spanked a few times as a kid but Da had always hated it and had acted like it was killing him to do it. The fights during foster care had been what toughened her up, and her recent troubles had reminded her how much she could hurt, but what she was feeling now was unlike anything she'd ever suffered; both painful and humiliating and both intentionally so.

That creature the crazy siblings called Mother had taken great pleasure in first whacking across her back with that cane she walked with, it being nothing but an odd affectation she hadn't used with her Dr. Carrolls disguise. She'd made the mistake of telling Eudora Scott exactly what she thought of her for lying about being a therapist and had reaped the consequences for running her mouth. "Mother" had proceeded to tell Jimmy to "practice his strokes" on her to the count of twenty. He'd used his belt … and the bastard had enjoyed it … while Jenifer Scott has restrained her hands and Jewel Scott held her down by putting her booted foot on the bank of her neck. So yeah, she had wound up kicking and screaming; she wasn't freaking Wonder Woman. It hurt. She reacted. Part of her was ashamed but the greater part of her accepted reality for what it was. When Jimmy was finished – and he was sweating and shaking by then – he dragged her upstairs and threw her in a small room … looked like an old linen closet or housekeeper's office at first glance. A new-looking deadbolt lock had also been thrown locking her in.

She was unsure how much time had passed as she struggled to remain conscious and beat the pain down into something manageable. Lucky for her she had a high pain tolerance and had recent experience in pain management techniques. Eventually she noticed that there was a window near the very top of the ceiling … an old transom window … and while it was narrow, it gave her just enough light to explore the boundaries of her prison.

On second thought the room wasn't either one of the things she'd thought it was but was an old bathroom. The nearly antique cast iron tub had been filled to overflowing with junk as was the corners of the room … looked like old flotsam from a kitchen … and where the toilet should have been was nothing but an open pipe. The smell coming up from the pipe would have nauseated most people but Emi had barely noticed it because it smelled so much like some of the subject items she'd been sent to work on before they had been properly cleaned. She didn't know how much time she would have so she looked around for a weapon and saw … nothing. Or at least nothing that struck her as immediately useful.

She was almost to the point of tears so her brain caused her brain to go into OCD mode as a means of self-defense; she started cataloguing all of the junk in the room with her. Her breathing slowed and became steady and she started putting things in piles. Someone observing her might consider it a form of self-hypnosis and the wouldn't be far wrong. She didn't necessarily know exactly what she was doing or why but it felt like the reason would make itself known once she got far enough along in the process so she just continued. Besides it was somehow comforting.

# # # # # # #

There was a knock followed by a male voice that penetrated the light doze that the detective had been in. "Mac? It's Tom Fielding."

Mac sat up and grabbed his shirt to pull it on before opening the door to his hotel room. "Something?" he asked.

"A big something. The kid asleep?"

"Yeah."

"Think we can leave him like that for a minute so we can review this first?"

Fielding's somber tone had Mac nodding and following Fielding up to his room. "I took the liberty of ordering a couple of sandwiches. Place has a good café but I didn't want to discuss this in public."

"Did they find Emi?"

"No. But a body was recovered. It would have been put down to roadside robbery except the man's credit card was used at a truck stop a couple of hundred miles away."

"And this has to do with this case how?"

Fielding looked as tired as Mac felt. "The investigators took one look at the footage from the station and realized one of the two people matched the description of the kidnappers. I had a still forwarded to my laptop and the other woman in the pic with our perp matches the description we have for Jewel Scott, though she is definitely older than she was in our last known photo of her."

"No sign of Emi?"

"Not in the video footage."

Mac was going to ask for clarification but Mayberry knocked on the door and then came in at Fielding's response. He was carrying photos – by the smell freshly printed photos – which he handed to the Lead Agent. Fielding looked at them briefly before handing one to Mac.

"This was found on the women's bathroom wall." It was what Emi had written as well as the cartoon of herself.

"Emi did this?"

Fielding looked at Mayberry and nodded and the man left the room to attend to some other task. Fielding then sighed. "Mac I think we have a serious problem. Yes, this is Emi's work. The handwriting matches – notice the left leaning slant to the words – and I've seen her draw that cartoon … or one similar to it … multiple times over the years. It's a tag she uses rather than a signature on some of her work to authenticate it as hers. It's what she wrote that concerns me."

Mac read it again and it was like he could see that she meant something but he was unable to piece together what it was.

Fielding rubbed his eyes. "I'm fairly certain she is trying to give us a clue. I don't like the confused format that she's using. I'm going to ask Adam to see what he makes of it but I want you to hear me out first."

Mac looked at the man in front of him and nodded.

"Emi has done some pretty extensive work on serial killers. The confidentiality clause she is under gives her some leeway to use her best judgment but I'm not sure how much she's told you … or Adam. The list of cases she has worked on is perhaps lengthier than has come across." Mac decided to hear the man out but the statement did concern him. He didn't like surprises. "Our profilers love her and there's one that will pester the hell out of us when he runs up on a cold case because he's convinced she's the only one that can get inside the victim's head enough to add to the investigation. Honestly? He's not far off. She's been instrumental in building a database of case clusters, some of them decades old."

Confused Mac responded, "Emi said she didn't work on active criminal cases."

"She … let's say due to the age of some of the cases she didn't think the cases were active but as we both know there is no statute of limitations on murder. Primarily the cases she has worked on are historical in nature or are designated as cold cases."

"Primarily," Mac said with suspicion.

"My superiors were attempting to encourage her to work on more modern cases. She resisted most efforts but occasionally they'd be able to slip one or two in on her. She let it go for the most part but she'd gotten to where … when she'd catch my superiors in their game she'd take a … uh … penalty as it were."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"If she caught them then they had to give her something that she wanted."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Now I really am not following you," Mac said.

"We both know that Emi is extremely intelligent. I'm not sure if you are aware of just how intelligent she is. Adam is but as a result he is more protective than … basically he doesn't use her the way he could and doesn't allow her to be used, at least in so far as she allows him to protect her in that respect." Fielding snorted. "It's made some of my superiors aggravated because he cops to their play faster than Emi does most of the time." Mac's eyebrows showed he was clearly surprised by that bit of information. "In addition to this you have to understand that her father … regardless of how he figured it out … knew how to mold Emi's intelligence into something constructive. She isn't just academically smart … her intelligence has been molded into a constructive tool as opposed to the useless types that you see far too often working at university because they wouldn't have a job any other way. Do you understand what I am trying to say?"

Mac nodded. "She isn't an 'ivory tower' intellect."

"That's it exactly and we can thank her father for that by training her so early in life. One way he did this was by turning a lot of her learning activities into games. If she solved a puzzle or completed a task, just like a game, she would either earn a reward or she would get the next piece of the puzzle or task to solve. One of our profilers caught onto that and … and it became a way to reel Emi in on a project."

In disgust Mac said, "You people manipulated her … were essentially grooming her to become one of you … by utilizing the same tools her father used to teach her to cope with real life?! Do you know how messed up that is?! It's reprehensible."

Fielding nodded seriously. "Some of us have actively fought against that method being used. Not just for Emi's sake but because psychologically in this field you need someone who is going to do something regardless of a reward rather than specifically for a reward."

Mac contemplated the agent and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Ok and I agree but what does one have to do with the other."

"As you know Emi doesn't necessarily think the same way most other people do. This is just as true when it comes to what she considers a reward or motivation. What she asked for as a 'penalty' for catching onto whatever game was being pushed on her isn't what most young women would ask for. Sometimes it was access to therapies for her daughter, sometimes it was access to treatment for her husband's issues, but sometimes …"

"Sometimes?"

"Emi exhibits certain OCD traits. She'll get interested in a field of study or topic and that seems to be all she can think of for a while. One time she was working on a mass grave for the Smithsonian and something unexpected came up … they weren't victims of a local plague as first thought but suffered nearly identical, catastrophic injuries. I could go into the entire story – it's historically interesting in and of itself – but the bottom line is that she'd discovered a colonial-era serial killer's burial ground. She became obsessed with the case and though she'd worked on serials before, this time she wanted to learn everything to scratch that itch in her brain. She wanted it down to the minutiae of the subject. Someone above me by several levels decided to give her what she wanted. In spades. Because of her memory she's now essentially a walking encyclopedia on the subject though she is no longer obsessively attracted to it."

"I'm still not seeing …" Mac stopped as he thought about what Emi had written word by word. Just then his phone buzzed. "Adam, take it easy, I didn't leave. Agent Fielding and I will be right down. There's something you need to look at."

# # # # # # # #

"That's definitely Emi's handwriting and her tag." Then Adam, hand shaking, used his finger to trace the words as he read them.

"Adam?" Fielding asked.

"Gimme a sec'." Fielding and Mac both watched him as he read and reread Emi's message. Slowly he started parsing out the phrases. ' _Two women walk into a bar arguing, one was a psychologist and the other a criminologist. The old lady bartender asks, "What are you two fighting about? You know my rules." They tell the older woman, "We're discussing the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath." The bartender has met plenty of strange people but these women are the strangest. "Why would you care about that stuff?" she asks. "Because we're trying to decide whether to kill you now or later._ ' OK, this whole thing involves three women … I don't think one of them is Emi because she is telling it in third person rather than first person. One of the three women is older … she makes a point of that."

Mayberry had been called in and had an erasable board and marker and was taking notes.

"She mentions a psychologist and a criminologist. Emi was constantly discussing … okay arguing … with other researchers about the difference in thinking between the two sciences and how that difference could significantly impact theories and hypotheses about perpetrators and victimology."

Adam paces around the room thinking then says, "The older woman is … is somehow …" Adam slows and seems to be talking to himself. Fielding starts to ask him something but Mac has seen Adam like this before and shakes his head at Fielding to give Adam time to chase whatever thoughts he is having.

Adam suddenly spills out, "Oh … crap! The bartender is Eudora Scott. She controls the house. The two women are the daughters. They come into her house, are under her control … sorta … because the bartender … old woman … whatever … tells them that they know there are rules against arguing. Then there is the ' _difference between a sociopath and a psychopath_ ' bit. Psychologists don't recognize the difference between the two but … but criminologists do. Jeannie Scott is a diagnosed sociopath … disorganized, impulsive, violent. We've been assuming they all are but Emi is saying … I think she is saying that one of the sisters would be a psychopath in a criminal investigation. Not good. Organized, ability to pass in public, able to make complicated plans and carry them out, able to carry a grudge for a long time before acting on it." Adam started pacing again. "Ok, I think what Emi is trying to say is that at least one of the sisters is holding a grudge against the mother … a death grudge. And …"

"And?"

"The mother … Eudora Scott … is clueless about it. So essentially we've got the mother's agenda – whatever that is – then we have at least one of the daughters with an agenda that she wants the mother dead, but Emi isn't certain if that plan is going down now and concurrent to the current situation or … or if is just something she is thinking about."

"Adam, let me ask you this," Agent Fielding said. "Why would Emi write in riddle rather than give a simple statement?"

"She was afraid that someone would see it. Women's bathroom at a truck stop? Bound to be other women around … might have been worried that the wrong person would see it. Or … you know when Emi gets stressed she … er … it is harder for her to … to process stuff out so that other people can see it the way she does. They could have given her something that was making her discombobulated and this was the best that she had. Hell, all I can do is guess. But she used her tag rather than her initials or signature. That means something but I'm not getting it unless it … well she only uses her tag on …" Adam stops and grows silent and still. He walks away to look out the balcony slider. The other three men in the room recognize he is trying to work through something and remain silent as well.

Carefully, like he is unwrapping something fragile which at that point is what the path his thoughts are trying to take are, he says, "She only uses her tags on some of her work. Work that needs special authentication. That could mean that she needs us to understand that that is her work and not a trick. But it is also about the type of work it is … she doesn't put it on her regular artwork, only on the stuff she does for her forensic projects … usually the high-pri ones. Wait … who would need to authenticate her work?"

Fielding blinked. "Carver … Dr. Josiah Carver." Suddenly Fielding begins to nod. "Dammit, why didn't I call him in the first place?!" Mac and Adam stare at him in confusion while he grabs his phone and dials out. "Joe! Yeah … no sign of her yet. Look, I need that report you wrote up on the Scott family … the one you used to teach Emi from. Yeah I know it's out of date but there's something in it that we need. You did? Bloody hell, that's great. Yeah, I'll try and keep everyone up to speed as I can."

"Mayberry! I need you to pull up a report from the SKDB at Radford. Use my clearance code because it isn't one of the publically available sections."

Mac asked, "The serial killer database?"

"That's right, Joe is the original profiler on the Mortensen Case … the original Ying Yang Case. He just finished uploading all of his old research because of the new crime scenes."

Mayberry called over, "Got it."

"Now if I can just figure out what she meant."

Adam looked at Mac then said, "Diagnoses … that's what she was talking about in the riddle so that's probably what she wants us to look at specifically. Find out what each one was diagnosed with."

Fielding scanned the report quickly the first time then more slowly. "Ok … here it is. Robert Scott … Borderline Personality Disorder, Eudora Scott … Avoidant Personality Disorder that … yeah … uh … in the depressive subset but Joe noted that the psychotic break she had and the corresponding coma disrupted the normal symptoms and hypothesized that she may have usurped some of her husband's behaviors to feel in control. Jeannie Scott was too young to receive a diagnosis but Joe said she exhibited signs of being a sociopath very early; she received a definitive diagnosis after her first murder. Jenifer Scott … another Avoidant Personality Disorder, easily manipulated, but she also has a small subset of characteristics that could mean she had a co-diagnosis but she exited foster care too soon for a full eval. Joe added a note here that it was thought she was young enough that her self-esteem and identity issues could be managed with therapy but no proof that she ever received such has been found. Then … ok, here it is … Jewel Scott … too young to be positively diagnosed but registered extremely high in all three subsets of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory." Fielding was reading Joe's notes he put in the margins when he said, "Houston we found our problem."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Jewel Scott hates her mother. She blames her for all of the abuse she and her sisters suffered at her father's hands. It doesn't appear she was sexually abused but it must have come close based on what the girl said to the staff in the state hospital though there remains the possibility that she was lying through her teeth to gain sympathy. Eventually she was heavily medicated, and to deal with overcrowding she was shipped to a group home on a rural farm in upstate NY. As a matter of fact the report said Jewel was so heavily medicated that the staff did not think that there was any way for Jewel to have affected her escape without help. Apparently she was basically a walking vegetable to keep her from running off to find her mother and brothers and killing them."

Mac said, "And the mother was unaware of the girl's feelings?"

"It doesn't look like it. Adam … uh … what are you doing?"

Mac and the two other men turned to find Adam pounding away on his laptop. It took them several tries to get his attention and once they had it Adam looked up triumphantly. "I think I know where Jewel has been all this time and what the precipitating event was."

Mayberry, fascinated by the whole investigative process going on before him forgot himself enough to say, "Well spill it Man!"

"I still need more proof but … look … Jeannie Scott was arrested, Emi was in the hospital for a while, everyone assumed that Jeannie was the only suspect in the Mortensen Case so they weren't looking for any additional suspects. But if the mother … Eudora Scott … had gone to all the trouble and expense to track down her kids it wasn't likely that she was going to simply move on just because Jeannie got caught. They might have tried to get her out. They might have even been trying to still get the youngest son."

Fielding nodded, "There were a couple of unusual break in attempts at the facility where Jeannie Scott was held but Turcell was in there as well and it was put down to his crazy supporters."

Adam nodded his understanding. "But if I geographically narrow my search and look for psychiatric Jane Doe cases there are more than you would believe but there is only one that closely matches any of the sisters and here is her booking picture. It's grainy and blurry in places where she wouldn't stop moving but … it looks like Jewel Scott. Court records state that she was Baker Acted but there is no record of her getting out."

"Mayberry," Fielding said. "Your next assignment. Find out what happened to that Jane Doe."

"Yes Sir."

Mac was looking at Adam and said, "If your timeline holds true we'll find that 'Jane Doe' was released or escaped between one and two years ago."

"I don't know Mac," Adam said. "I'm … I'm still missing something. Ok, so one of the daughters gets criminally locked up and the other gets psychiatrically locked up. That still leaves the third daughter and the mother. What were they doing all this time?"

# # # # # # # #

Emi heard someone coming up the stairs and she just had time to hide what she'd been doing before the door to her prison was opened. It was Jenifer Scott.

"Mother had Jewel take her for a drive to get out of the house. Jimmy is downstairs but he won't come up unless I call him."

"And?"

Jenifer swallowed and then said, "Turn around and … and I'll look at your back."

"No."

"Doesn't it … hurt?"

"Yeah."

"They why? It's foolish to turn down help when it is offered."

"Depends on how you look at it." Then something clicked and Emi put another piece of her plan into play. "Why should I trust you? I trusted Jeannie and she betrayed me."

"YOU are the one that betrayed Jeannie."

"Nuh uh."

"Oh yes. All the way back to foster care."

"Like you would know. I protected her. And she turned on me."

"No."

Emi was nearly gagging on the words she was uttering but they were a means to an end. "Yes. It makes me angry but … but I suppose I can't really blame her. But still … a person goes to all of the trouble of trying to take the heat off of her and what does she do? She nearly kills me."

Confused and suspicious Jenifer stammered, "That's … that's not how Jeannie says …"

Pretending fond exasperation Emi told her, "Jeannie was always misunderstanding things, was always so impulsive. I tried to take care of her. Tried to keep people from taking advantage of her. She was really sensitive. Those boys were always bothering her and she just never seemed to see it. I did. I was younger than her but I still saw it better than she did. _I_ knew exactly what they were after. She just wouldn't cooperate."

"What … what do you mean?"

"I mean she thought they just wanted to be her friend but I knew, oh yes I knew, exactly how they could be. They were nasty."

Jenifer nodded in agreement. "Boys are."

"You bet. That's why you always have to tell them how things are going to be, make sure they mind your rules. When Gary was following my rules he was fine. It was when he stopped following my rules that he got messed up."

"You mean when we lured him away."

Emi nearly reached across and slapped the woman but she needed her. She would have to bide her time to address what they'd done to Gary.

Swallowing her anger she said, "Gary made his choices. We were talking about Jeannie. Well back then I wasn't big enough to tell a couple of those boys how things were going to be. And Jeannie … she just kept encouraging them. She didn't know what it would mean, she was just … sorta playing with them. I finally … well … I had to lie and get her in trouble so the staff would help keep her safe but did Jeannie understand that?! Of course not. She took it the completely wrong way. And there was no explaining it to her once she got it into her head. It kills me for you to say that she still believes …" Emi turned her head away pretending she was hiding hurt feelings.

"I have to tell Mother."

"No!"

"Mother absolutely must know."

Emi set another hook. "You can't. She'll get mad at Jeannie. I know she will. When I thought she was Dr. Carrolls she already acted angry about some of the things that I told her, I can't risk her learning anymore. Jeannie was always on and on about her family and how you would be together again one day but she … she was a little scared of … you know … you forgetting about her because she knew … that she was different."

Swallowing the bait Jenifer asked, "What do you mean she knows she is different?"

"Your mother is the smart one. Jewel is the strong one. And you are the one that takes care of everyone. Jeannie knew she was the weak one."

"No. You're just saying that."

"I'm telling you what Jeannie told me," Emi lied. "I wish Jeannie would have listened to me that night …"

"What night?"

"Uh …"

"I said what night?!"

"Ok, ok … don't get so upset. It was that night the cops found her. I had the worst time tracking her down and then when I got there and tried to warn her she … she …" Emi let Jenifer see a pout. "She didn't believe me _again_. I mean I risked everything for her. Everything. Even my own daughter. And she did it again. So I'm done with her. Totally done. But … but … you still can't tell your mom. 'Cause I promised Jeannie that …"

"Promised her what?"

"Look, I promised I would always keep her safe ok? My family was all gone. Stupid men killed them. But then I found Jeannie and … and I needed someone to take care of. I don't suppose you'd understand that. You've always had a family."

Jeannie was silent for a moment before saying, "Actually … I do know. That's how I knew how bad it would hurt you for Gary and his kid to die. Mother and Jewel only thought it would upset you but I knew … _I_ _knew_ … that it would destroy you for him to have an affair, to commit suicide, right … there … in front … of you. That was my idea. Gary told me stuff. About you … and Felicia … Reni …"

Emi heard the sick certainty in Jenifer's voice and realized that Jenifer was a little more warped than she'd given her credit for being. She might not be a psychopath but she obviously had sadistic leanings. Emi whispered, "They were weak."

"What?"

It killed Emi but she kept up the charade. "They were weak. Sometimes no matter what you do someone is just too weak."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Author's Note** : The Community where we've been gathering all of the "Adam-ccentric" and Adam Ross as a main character stories is now up and running. There are currently just shy of 60 stories collected in one easily searchable location. The link to the community can be found in my profile. Or you can search for it manually by going to the Community tab and browsing through tv then csi:ny then setting up how you want to filter your search._

 _ **Author Note 2** : I've kept Stella and Mac's relationship canon. Stella is no one's Cinderella and Mac is not going to suddenly turn into some Prince Charming that wears his emotions on his sleeve. They are both very tough individuals with very strict personal codes of conduct and honor._

 _ **Caution** : the science that I'm including in the story in the coming chapters is real; from the social sciences to chemistry. It is nothing that you cannot find on the internet with even a casual search. However, it goes without saying that just 'cause you read it on the internet that doesn't mean you need to do it ... or at least if you are determined to do it, use commonsense, a good amount of personal research, and protective gear such as safety goggles and gloves. (hint, hint Mother Hen doesn't want anyone to fry their eyebrows off ... or even more sensitive body parts ... leave it to the crazies on youtube)_

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

Emi curled up in a ball on the old bathroom floor and wanted to cry. It had hurt so bad to lie to Jenifer … just as bad as her back hurt. Both pains beat in time to the headache she was suffering from due to incipient dehydration. It felt like ants were crawling around inside her skull, picking her brain apart. To act like she didn't care anymore, to call them weak, had torn a wound open she'd thought had healed. She was desperate to cry to release some of the feelings beating on her, but she couldn't. She could not show them that weakness, couldn't give them a weapon to use against her.

She heard a squeak and then felt something crawling on her. Emi wasn't squeamish but she wasn't fond of things invading her personal space. She sat up quickly and swept what turned out to be a mouse out of her hair. It hit the wall, slid down, then scurried into a hole in the floor.

Adam would be freaking out. He didn't mind getting dirty but it was on his own terms, knowing he could shower as soon as he wanted. But he had a hard time living in dirt and disorganization. Even when his spaces appeared to be a mess if you really looked, you could see the mess had some kind of logical sense to it. But vermin were not his thing unless they were being dissected or were pinned in a case in the biology department. Adam was more about chemistry. Chemistry and computers.

Thinking of Adam and chemistry and computers Emi started to calm down. She knew Adam would be looking for her, absolutely believed it with every fiber of her being. All she had to do was hang on long enough for him to work his magic. To do that she might need to escape but escaping while being held captive by people that belonged in an insane asylum would not be easy. She was the weak one in the equation.

Jenifer had insisted on treating the damage done to the skin on her back … causing at least as much pain as she alleviated … and she'd even given her a bowl of thin soup and a bottle of water but that barely qualified as sustenance. She had an idea that it was being done on purpose. She'd need to be careful.

Emi knew about careful. She'd lived it for too many years. But Emi also knew how to be not careful and with that thought she crawled over to the darkest corner of the room and uncovered a few tools that she'd created that might help her with her plan to escape. If she didn't escape on her own she certainly thought it might be enough to draw some attention. "Naughty, naughty, naughty Emi," she told herself silently, nearly giggling. She tried to stop herself because talking to yourself was never a good sign and neither was laughing when there wasn't really anything to laugh at but if she was going to play crazy for the benefit of her audience, some of it was bound to bleed over into her reality.

# # # # # # # #

Stella was laying out paper plates, bowls, sporks, and cartons of food on the table in Mac's room.

"You didn't need to do this," Mac told her.

Stella just looked at him. "You telling me you feel up to traipsing out to a diner or café this time of night?"

Mac shook his head.

She continued on with her task then asked, "How's Adam?"

"Asleep again but who knows how long it will last this time."

"Why don't you eat then grab a couple of hours of sleep yourself."

"I will as soon as I'm sure he isn't going to get up and start working again. I finally had to lock that damn laptop of his in the hotel safe."

"Mac …"

Sighing and shaking his head, and feeling slightly foolish, Mac said, "I know. It's ridiculous."

Stella sat and indicated Mac should do the same while she asked, "Are you talking about the way Adam is acting or the way you are reacting to the way he is acting?"

With no real heat in his voice Mac responded, "Smartass."

She smiled but said, "Actually it's a legitimate question."

Mac didn't want to answer that question much less examine it so he focused on trying to figure out what Stella was spooning onto his plate. "I'm … er …"

"Stuff in the bowl is gumbo. This …" she said indicating the rice dish. "Is Jambalaya." Pointing to a bag yet to be opened she added, "And if you're a good boy there's a couple of beignets for dessert."

Mac thought silently, "When in Rome." Then picked up the Styrofoam cup and drank from it.

"Dear God, did they dump the sugar bowl in the tea?!" he asked on a splutter.

Stella couldn't help but laugh and say, "Yankee. That is the epitome of a fine Southern beverage colloquially known as 'sweet tea.'"

Wiping his mouth, "I know what sweet tea is … that is diabetes on the half shell."

"I'll admit it is a shock to the system if you aren't used to it but trust me, that's not nearly as sweet as some I've tasted. Now eat … or can you not eat and tell me about the case at the same time?"

"Have I ever had trouble with that in the past?"

They fell into their old pattern without even trying. They were becoming comfortable again … too comfortable. Old habits. It wasn't until Stella fed him a bite of her beignet – a type of French doughnut – and her fingertips brushed his lips that either one realized where their old habits were taking them.

Mac leaned back and then stood up abruptly and went to stand on the balcony of the room letting the relatively cool air of autumn chase the insanity out of his head. Silently he upbraided himself. "Think of Christine you bastard. Think of your wife."

"Mac?"

Mac rand a hand through his hair then without turning around he said, "I apologize Stella. My behavior was … was out of line."

"Mac … nothing happened."

"That's not the point."

"You're being …"

"I'm married Stella. I swore to honor her and be loyal to her and I … and dammit …"

Swallowing Stella asked, "Do you really think I'm the type of woman to have an affair with a married man?"

Mac turned towards her to find her standing proudly with her chin tilted up. His shoulders slumped. "I apologize again. This is a lot … harder … than …."

"That's a hell of an assumption you were making." But she reined in her anger. "But I apologize as well. I guess we need to … to be more … circumspect. I hadn't meant to tease you."

Stella didn't know whether to be angry or hurt as she watched an expression of shame flash across Mac's face before being hidden. "The mistake was mine Stella. It won't happen again. I appreciate your thoughtfulness of bringing …"

"Food," a voice croaked. "Do I smell food in there Boss?"

Mac practically rushed to the connecting door to open it. "Ready to eat?"

"If … if there's enough to share?"

Also grateful for the interruption to what they'd been on their way to doing, Stella took her cue from Mac and gave a bright, unconcerned smile and said, "Of course there is Sweety."

A few minutes later Mac was forced to laugh when Adam said, "Not as good as Emi's but at least I still have the hair on my tongue."

Stella laughed as well. "What?!"

"Emi has a cast iron stomach. The hotter the better. Boss? Did Danny ever tell you about the time he and Emi got into a pepper eating contest?"

"No, that's one I haven't heard."

In short order Adam had both Mac and Stella nearly howling with laughter. Danny had thought he was king of the hot peppers. Lindsey was always complaining that he doctored everything with hot sauce, even his scrambled eggs. That is Danny thought he was king until he ran up against Emi.

"Emi would eat one and then Danny would eat one. Then Emi would pop two in her mouth and Danny would as well. She was eating them like popcorn like it was no big deal and Danny was determined he could do the same. Lindsey just sat there with her eyes getting wider and wider. I was going to warn Danny off but Emi kicked me under the table. Danny had done something to hack her off earlier in the day … I think he called her short or something and kept at it and then topped it off by telling her she should volunteer to be one of Santa's elves which got Lucy talking about it as well." Adam rolled his eyes. "I knew there would be pay back for that but …"

Adam finished the story where Danny had been forced to run outside and spray himself down with water … drinking as much out of the hose as he sprayed over his head. "Lindsey said it was over a week before he could even touch the hot sauce bottle in their fridge without wincing."

Stella laughed and said, "I have got to meet this girl!"

And suddenly like a candle being snuffed out Adam just shut down. His hands were balled into fists on the table and it was like his whole body had the tremors. Stella felt horrible. She put a hand over one of his fists and Mac sighed and patted him on the back, but while Adam appreciated their support and friendship neither was the touch that Adam desperately yearned to feel."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Emi woke up stroking her face with the end of her braid. She'd been having a dream that Adam was brushing her face with his beard. Realizing that it _had_ only been a dream nearly brought her to tears yet again but she knew she couldn't give in to it. It was still dark outside though Emi's internal clock told her it was early morning. She was stiff and nearly nauseous from the bruising pain radiating across her back. She swallowed but it didn't do much good, her throat was like the Sahara and her tongue felt like she been licking the old carpet that used to line the hall of the apartment complex where she and Adam had lived. She knew she should be hungry as well but her body was adjusting to the lack of food … or was just too weak to feel hunger at the moment.

Adam. She had to trust him. Had to have faith. But she had to be careful. One wrong move would send that crazy Jewel after him. Emi couldn't stand the idea of Adam having to spend years looking over his shoulder the way she has.

To take her mind off of her pain and fears Emi crawled over to inspect her "armory" yet again. She supposed in the scheme of things they weren't much but they were better than nothing. Stink bombs, smoke bombs, a coke and wax bomb, and penny bombs. Kid stuff, things that you'd pull harmless pranks with … relatively harmless anyway. She wished she had more but you worked with what you had. Besides, she'd used things like this before to great advantage. There hadn't been access to much in the group home but there'd been scope to experiment.

The stink bomb ingredients … ammonia from a small bottle of the stuff she found in the tub and the heads off of a book of matches … were marinating in an old, glass jar that had still had its lid. It needed at least two more days before it would be ready but the resulting ammonium sulfide would create quite the eye watering effect. The ammonium sulfide was generated by the reaction between the hydrogen sulfide in the match heads and the liquid ammonia. H2S + 2 NH3 = (NH4)2S

Emi had made smoke bombs out of the ping pong balls and aluminum foil in one of her pockets and found a couple of disposable lighters in the flotsam with just enough fuel left to light them. As for why she'd had ping pong balls in her pocket, she'd been cleaning out a box of toys from the attic and had wondered what they were doing there since to her knowledge there'd never been a ping pong table in the house. They were super easy to make but she'd been lucky to find some more aluminum foil in the waste bin. The old-fashioned caps and pennies from one of her other pockets made several penny bombs. They're nothing but noise makers but something was better than nothing.

It was disgusting but she'd also made a couple of stink bombs using hair she found in an old hair brush under the bathroom sink and some paper and rubber bands. That wouldn't give near the stink of the ammonium sulfide but again, you work with what you have. Her Da had taught her that and Adam did the same thing. There was an amazing amount of jury rigging in their house that would suffice until they could afford to make the repairs correctly. The house would pass a code enforcement inspection … but only so long as they could hide a few things and the inspector liked cookies.

The one that concerned her the most … especially given there was sewer gas leaking into the house … was the coke and wax bomb. It wasn't really a bomb per se but you still got a brief, spectacular explosion. She'd need to boil the wax – left from some candle stubs she'd found – in a narrow glass container. The glass she found was a crack pipe left by some addict flopping in the house … it was already broken but all she needed was a decent amount of the base to boil the wax in. Once the wax was boiling you set it in the coke and varoom … explosion with a fire ball and all as the sudden cooling of the wax caused it to combust. That one was a choice of last resort. She wanted to escape, not fry herself into a crispy critter. Definitely not how she wanted Adam to discover her.

While she may have been concerned by the coke and wax "bomb" it was actually the hash oil – another leftover from druggies using the house to flop in – that she'd found that could be even more dangerous. The stuff hadn't even had the butane extracted from it telling her that it was nothing more than a bathtub gin type marijuana compound. If worse came to worse she knew exactly what she was going to use that for … assuming she didn't get killed in the process.

The thought of what she could do comforted her enough that she was able to hide her percolating armory and crawl back to another place and doze back off to sleep.

# # # # # # # # #

When Mac and Adam walked into the NOLA crime lab Willis looked up and said, "Well at least you don't look like an actor from _The Walking Dead_. Not the live 'uns but the dead 'uns."

"Does it count if I feel like one?" Adam asked without missing a beat.

"Zombies don't feel. That's what makes them so difficult to kill."

With a straight face Adam responds, "Ha ha. Hook me up?"

Almost apologetically she said, "Stations are all booked at the moment. New Orleans is a busy place for chaos and murder and we are part of the thin blue line. Got a consolation prize for you though. Found something else you might want to look at."

Adam went over to stare at some report she'd put together after enhancing the photos from the truck stop enough to get a good partial plate. She'd been jiggering with it ever since but had finally manage to pull some good intel.

While Adam looked over what Willis had discovered, Mac gathered with Stella, Fielding, Mayberry, and Thad in the conference room to go over all current developments.

Fielding said, "I don't have too much to add at this point. We're in the process of confirming everything we have and surprisingly most of it …"

Adam walked in dragging a very reluctant Willis. "Stella, give her a raise." While Stella and Thad's eyebrows shot up and Willis looked like she wanted to sink through the floor Adam looked at the others and said, "We've got another alias. Willis traced the tags on the car at the truck stop to an Arizona holding company. At the moment the holding company is controlled by an off-shore bridge trust. She backtracked the officers in the holding company and came up with two names … Eugenia Sanford and Janelle Sanford held majority ownership until the bridge trust was triggered. Now the bridge trust owns the holding company. Mac, I really need my laptop back. I need to go in there and dig deeper and see what else besides the car the holding company owns and if the bridge trust manages anything besides the holding company."

Fielding nodded and directed Mayberry, "Call the office. See if you can find the money train feeding the holding company; currently or in the past. If we're able to tie any of the assets directly to Eudora Scott's original inheritance, then I think we'll move to freeze what we can stateside and then move on the trust."

Adam nodded. "The off-shore trust is Caribbean, not out of the Cook Islands, so a federal judgment won't be voided."

Mac reluctantly handed Adam's laptop over but the look he gave him was cautionary; Mac had admitted to feeling protective towards the young man but Adam really was physically close to collapsing yesterday and Mac didn't want a repeat performance today. Adam nodded accepting the silent stricture to use commonsense and was almost through the door before Willis decided to beat her own hasty retreat. They hung up as both tried to go through the doorway at the same time but Adam absentmindedly played the gentleman and moved to the side so she could shimmy through before following her.

Mac turned to Stella and said, "Now I see what you mean."

She nodded with a small smile playing on her lips, grateful that Mac was able to compartmentalize so well. She knew he was still thinking of what almost happened – hell, so was she – but at the same time he'd boxed it up and put it to the side to take care of the priority in front of them. It was awkward enough dealing with her own feelings of guilt, she's not sure she could deal with Mac's and still hide what was going on. That compartmentalization behavior of Mac's had sometimes created problems but at the moment Stella accepted it as necessary.

Thad cleared his throat and hesitated before saying, "If you've got nothing new pressing, we might want to think about where they could be holding Dr. O'Ryan."

Fielding nodded. "You have some suggestions."

Thad shrugged trying to look nonchalant, yet he still wanted to be taken seriously. These were Stella's friends, the thought of embarrassing her was unacceptable. "Most folks have been cautious since Katrina. The damage to the city was catastrophic and while it caused a significant decrease in population that we still haven't recovered from, the crime rate per capita went through the roof. Won't bother making excuses for the corruption on the municipal side that made things worse but it has gotten better. What all of this created is a population that is basically wary of strangers outside of the tourist areas. People know their neighbors and they report suspicious characters roaming around."

Stella nodded her agreement.

Thad continued. "There are areas however that aren't as monitored though the city is trying to clean them up."

It was Mayberry who said, "The blighted neighborhoods that still haven't fully been rehabbed from the hurricane damage." When the others looked at him in surprise he shrugged. "My brother's father in law is a Saints fan … I've gotten invited to a few games over the years at the stadium here. We drove around like Lookie-Lous with my brother – who is a contractor – pointing out what he thought was being done right and what was being done wrong."

Stella shrugged. "There's a process. It's only as efficient as there is money to make it run smoothly. And money has been in short supply, budgets are tight. So yes, there are still houses damaged by the hurricane standing abandoned … and some that are actually being lived in despite the damage. People in those areas keep their heads down because they don't want to draw attention and possibly get their own home condemned due to unlivable conditions."

Thad said, "It would need to be at least a mixed race neighborhood so they wouldn't stand out. Probably need a garage or car shed to conceal the vehicle … assuming they haven't dumped it. The house would need to at least be semi-livable looking as well … at least from a street view … as vagrants get run off even if they don't get reported. We can use that to narrow the search."

Mac asked, "Street corner cameras?"

Stella looked at him and said, "This isn't NYC." But then she got thoughtful. "But the property appraiser started using drones for surveying purposes. Thad … or assign Josef if you have something else pressing, get with Michaels over in the county building and see if anything unusual has popped up recently or if he has some suggestions on the best areas to look into. Also ask him if that trust is on the tax rolls."

Mayberry got a text and excused himself for a moment and then returned. "You can confirm the Jane Doe psych case to be Jewel Scott. And the woman that was her therapist before she walked away from the treatment facility says that she is an extremely dangerous individual when unmedicated which we can assume sure currently is."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Emi jumped awake when Jimmy slammed through the door and grabbed her by the hair and then dragged her down the stairs, never giving her a chance to get her feet under her before throwing her at the feet of "Mother".

The woman was all but enthroned in a Queen Anne style chair near a fireplace that hadn't been lit in over a decade. The room around her was neat and tidy, in complete contrast to the rest of the house.

"What are these lies you are telling about my daughter Jeannie?"

Emi tried to sit up but Jimmy put his foot in the middle of her back and pushed her back down. Emi growled, "Enough already. You want me to answer I need to sit up so I can think. The foot in my back doesn't feel so hot right now. I'm not asking for a chair just stop stepping on me."

Jimmy looked like he wanted to do more than just step on her … stomp on her seemed appealing to his mind … but Jewel, who was leaning against a nearby wall said, "Maggot … fetch That One a chair."

The young man looked outraged for a moment until the look in Jewel's eyes registered, instantly cowing him. He dragged an ottoman over and picked Emi up and sat her none too gently upon it.

Jewel said, "Don't make Mother repeat herself."

Getting the message Emi nodded. "I won't but I need some … some clarification. My head's all … all foggy. My back kept me up most of the night."

Jenifer timidly told her, "Then don't act stupid by mouthing off. Mother doesn't care for it; it's disrespectful. You'll … you'll be punished."

"I get that now."

In a sardonic tone Eudora Scott said, "Amazing what it takes to finally get your attention. If you had obeyed Dr. Carrolls we wouldn't be in this position."

Emi couldn't find any way to respond to that without causing herself more pain so she kept silent.

No one said anything until Jenifer prompted, "Just tell her what you told me."

Emi dropped into the persona she had created back in foster care when dealing with Jeannie and which she was reusing for this situation. To Jenifer she mumbled, "You weren't supposed to tell. You promised."

"I most certainly did not."

"I told you …" she glanced at "Mother" from the corner of her eye.

"Mother" using a regal tone of voice said, "Enough. Stop fidgeting and tell me. You never mentioned any of this in therapy."

"I'm not allowed to talk about Jeannie. Besides, talking about her always somehow gets her in trouble. She's safe where she is at so long as they don't think to pay attention to her. They promised me that they wouldn't put her with criminals and things like that."

"And just why would they promise you such a thing."

Emi lied, "I told them that if they put her where she could be hurt I wouldn't help them."

"You keep speaking as if you are protecting Jeannie but I have the story directly from her."

"You got to see her?! How was she? Was she eating properly? Was she getting enough sunshine? She gets depressed if she …"

The other people in the room looked at Emi like she was a few fries short of a happy meal but that was the entire point to the ruse. They already thought she was "unstable" so she'd give them unstable. But she also needed to manipulate them. A difficult balancing act that Emi wasn't totally convinced she'd be able to pull off.

"Explain yourself," Eudora Scott demanded … so Emi did, telling her the same thing she had told Jenifer except she added a few details to the act by behaving upset.

"Why didn't you protect her?" Emi asked.

Outraged Eudora Scott said, "Don't you dare presume to tell me …"

"You're the mother. Ok, so Jeannie can be a little … er … off on occasion. But it isn't her fault. I mean look what she went through with a Da like she had. You knew she'd need careful handling."

"What would you know of being a mother?" the woman asked snidely.

Having difficulty holding onto her temper … and hiding how she felt … she growled, "Reni was my child. Just because she didn't come out of my body doesn't mean that God didn't give her to me to care for as if she had. Maybe he only gave her to me for a short while but I was still absolutely the best mother to her she could have. I worked my fingers to the bone for all those idiots so that I could pay for her doctors and other things that she needed. Her father certainly didn't help. And it was ME that Felicia begged to take care of Reni, not Gary. I wound up having to take care of Gary too … yet he betrayed me. Reni never did. The last word on her lips was … was 'mommy'."

All of that was true … except for the idiots part. True enough that even the crazy people in the room sensed in. Especially Jewel who seemed to get kick out of stirring the pot. She asked Eudora, "Are you saying that she wasn't a mother to that little girl? But does that mean you aren't a mother to the Maggot over there?"

Emi was shocked but didn't let it show on her face as she kept looking down. She'd been pushing for that idea to set in but to have Jewel bring it into the open so quickly made Emi's mind race. Not that she was able to do much with the progress she'd made because Jimmy started bawling at the top of his lungs and then threw himself on the floor commencing a hysterical fit.

"Honestly Jewel," Jenifer huffed. "Now look what you've done. I'm sure Mother meant no such thing. Did you Mother?"

Eudora Scott was looking at the blubbering man on the floor in disgust. "Do something with him Jenifer. He's giving me a headache."

Jewel said, "I'll take care of That One. Call me if you can't handle the Maggot. I'll put in him order."

Jenifer hurried over to Jimmy and started pulling at him while keeping cautious eyes on Jewel's progress across the room. It was like a bird watching a cobra and Emi knew she was shortly to be the object of the cobra's attention.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Surprisingly Jewel was quite calm and allowed Emi to walk back up the stairs. In the hallway outside her prison she asked, "So what's the story? Are you telling the truth about Jeannie?"

Emi weighed her answer. "Yeah … but I don't expect you to believe me. Your mother is pretty much convinced she knows what really happened and that's what everyone else is expected to believe as well."

"Not necessarily. I know Mother can be … blind … about some things. You wanted to say something else down there. What was it?"

Emi was scared to death but took the chance. "I just don't understand," she whispered.

"Understand what?"

"How your mother could … could let …" Emi shrunk against the wall like she was worried she'd said too much.

"I asked you a question," she said and Emi could hear the danger in the tone.

Emi swallowed and looked down the hall like she was afraid someone might over hear her. "I just don't understand how your mother could have … you know … let your father … you know … Jeannie told me about some of the stuff she remembered; it wasn't much but it was enough. It was pretty awful. Why didn't your mother leave? Or … or whatever? Why did you have to be the one to defend everyone? You were just a little kid. Jeannie told me that too. She said you're the strong one." Emi pretended to be mesmerized and reach towards Jewel's hair. Then she jerked back her hand and looked fearfully at the woman in front of her. "How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Making me … making me want to … want to … to …"

"To what?"

"Brush your hair. I used to brush Reni's hair. Stop it. That's not fair."

Jewel looked at her consideringly and then smiled but it wasn't a very nice smile. "We all have our gifts … Emerald. Mine is … unique. Since you recognize that, perhaps I'll allow you to tend to me." Then the smile was gone and she said, "But not at the moment. I have things to do. Starting with locking you in and then going down and teaching that boy to control himself. Now move."

Emi was shaking like a leaf. She was in over her head and knew it. One wrong move. Hesitating at the wrong place or moving too fast, trying to use the wrong psychology, and she was a goner. She'd been in this position before. With Jeannie, but Jewel was far more dangerous. She slid down the wall, momentarily forgetting about her back, and tried to control her breathing.

Emi was starting to doze off when the door was unlocked and Jenifer looked at her like she wasn't sure what to make of her. "Jewel said to feed you. Don't waste it and clean up your mess."

"Thank you. I'll be careful," Emi said. Good manners didn't cost anything and she was fairly certain that Jenifer rarely saw appreciation. Continuing to try and use the family dynamics Emi asked, "Um … is … is Jewel mad at me?"

"No. Should she be?"

Emi gave her a vague, confused look. "No. It's just … I don't want her mad at me."

"Then don't do anything stupid and mind what she tells you. And stay quiet. Mother has another one of her headaches and must take her … er … medicine."

She closed and locked the door before Emi could figure out a response. The bag held a peanut butter sandwich and two bottles of water. Not one. Two. She had to force herself to slowly sip one and save the other one. She also tried to see if anything was mixed in the peanut butter but nothing stood out. She hoped they hadn't gotten around to trying to poison her … and wouldn't … but you could never be too careful. Emi was also worried about them drugging her. She was half way through the sandwich and water when a distinctive smell wafted up through the hole in the floor that the mouse had disappeared through.

Quietly Emi went over to the hole and sniffed again. She was positive that smell hadn't been there before. It was a cross between burning rubber, burnt sugar, vomit, and a chemical back odor. Eudora Scott's "medicine" was smoking a pipe of crack. Not only was the woman crazy, she was also an addict. Didn't that complicate an already complicated situation beyond what was necessary Emi thought in disgust.

# # # # # # # # #

Later that afternoon Mac stood in the doorway to the lab for a moment before sighing and returning to the conference room. The man named Thad watched before following Mac into the otherwise empty room. "You're worried about him."

"Yes."

"He like this all the time?"

"No. No he isn't."

"Stella seems … fond … of him."

Mac gave the man a closer look. "For lack of a better description Stella sometimes … mothered Adam."

"Had a rough childhood did he?" When Mac just continued to stare Thad nodded. "I've seen her do it to other people. Usually … well … let's just say she knows how to pick the ones that need her most."

Mac crossed his arms and nodded. "Yes, yes she does."

"You mad at her for coming here?"

Mac's brows lowered upon hearing the surprising query and said, "That's a rather personal question."

"True enough," the other man admitted. "But one that I need to ask. She's been … different … since you people have come here. Jumpy though that ain't it exactly."

"Stella is a professional."

"She is that but there's something else going on and I don't want to see her caught in the crossfire. She's a good woman. She surprised those of us who made the cut and were kept on. At first she was all steel and fire. She still is but we understand her better and she us. People are afraid you're going to talk her into going back to NYC. Lots more scope for her there and none of us are blind to it."

Mac snorted. "If you really know her then you should know that no one talks Stella Bonasera into anything. She runs her own life. She came here of her own free will and if she ever decides to leave it will be of her own free will." But seeing the man's worried expression he added, "What I can tell you is that she said she has no intention of leaving here any time soon."

After a moment Thad relaxed and then shook his head. "Shouldn't have needed you to tell me that … but I did. Stella is …"

When the man stuttered to a stop and looked slightly embarrassed, Mac nodded and said, "Yes, she is. I'm glad you see that."

Mac watch the man walk away. He was obviously trying to hide his discomfort. Mac wondered if this was Stella's "complicated" then shook his head. One, it was none of his business anymore. Two … aw hell, who was he kidding. He'd likely always be interested in what Stella was doing … and who she was doing it with … whether he had the right to or not. He'd thought he'd come to terms with all of that but it looked like this visit to New Orleans had re-opened old wounds … perhaps for both of them.

He looked at his watch thinking he'd call Christine but saw she'd be in the middle of preparing for the dinner crowd. Mac was a little relieved. And then ashamed because he was relieved. Dear God, he wasn't that type of man was he? He couldn't be.

Adam chose that moment to wander into the room looking disconsolate. "Boss? I … I can't find anything. I've looked all day. I know there has to be something there but … but I can't find it."

Mac quickly shoved all of his own personal baggage into the back of his mind and told the young man, "You gave Fielding a few clues to run down on his end."

"Small nothings that probably mean less than nothing. I'm … I'm failing her Boss."

"You're here and you're trying Adam."

"The longer it takes us to get a solid lead the less likely it will be that we … that we …"

Mac couldn't lie to the man. It was their job to know that the longer it took to locate a kidnap victim the less likely they'd be found alive. Even though he knew both he and Adam needed to rest he clapped the young man on the shoulder and said, "Why don't you show me what you've been working on. Maybe two sets of eyes will pry out something."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

It had been a difficult night for everyone. Adam and Mac had finally been forced to return to the hotel and get some rest. Mac had called Christine but the conversation had been stilted on his end and as a result filled with concern on hers. Adam had gotten a call from Danny and he'd let slip that Lucy had overheard an adult conversation she wasn't supposed to and had been crying off and on for some of Emi's cookies. Adam had told him there was some in a tin in their freezer.

"Man I don't wanna …"

"You have the key and you know Emi would say the same thing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"What about you? You doin' ok?"

Adam sighed, "Not really. But … I'm not giving up. Emi needs me to … to hang tough."

"Emi needs you to eat and get some sleep too Buddy."

Lindsey had gotten on the line before they'd both said goodbye and then he'd gotten a call from Hawkes and from Jo both, one right after the other. After hanging up with Jo Adam had to go take a shower. It was the only place he could cry and no one would be able to tell.

# # # # # # # # # #

Later Emi was fighting to keep from puking. No food. No water. Even the mice in the walls were starting to sound like appetizers.

# # # # # # # # # #

"Fielding."

"Agent Fielding this is Mayberry. I might have something."

After hearing the man out he said, "See if we can catch Mac and Adam before they leave for the NOLA crime lab."

# # # # # # # # # #

Adam was coming down the hall with two large cups of coffee in his hands when he saw Mac opening his hotel room door to the federal agents. He almost tripped but managed to hold it together and not slosh hot coffee on the other three men. He handed Mac his cup with a shaking hand.

"Buck up Ross," Mayberry said, thumping him in the shoulder with a fist. "We got a line on …"

Fielding put his hand on Mayberry's arm and said, "Let's step inside."

Mayberry stuttered to a stop and nodded. After all four men were in the room and the door shut Fielding said, "That bridge trust is managed by another trust so that was a bust. However, it appears that the original limited partnership is still in operation. It's actually a holding company where Eugenia and Janelle Sanford were the managing partners prior to the bridge trust activation."

"We knew that," Mac said.

"Yes, but it being used as a holding company gave us something else. One of the companies that the limited partnership owns is a property management company. The property management company led us to several limited liability companies (LLCs) that hold real estate in various locations around the country. It appears that the LLCs own properties, while currently rental properties, were at one time the residences utilized by …"

"Eudora Scott."

"Precisely. Or more precisely by Eugenia Sanford who is the alias for Eudora Scott. We were finally able to trace Eudora after she disappeared. She actually had been having an affair during her marriage to Robert Scott. They ran off together after the death of her parents and it was he who established the false identities, helped her to find her daughters and established all of the financial screens that hid her movements. His identity isn't pertinent to the case but he was a criminal in his own right … primarily in the area of identity theft and fake identification papers."

"Where is he now? Is he connected to the man that was spotted with Jenifer and Jewel Scott?"

Fielding took a breath and said, "He's dead. Died about eighteen months ago. Apparently his death is what triggered the bridge trust and is what has locked Eudora Scott from accessing the funds that she had been used to having at her disposal. She gets a small stipend but has no access to the principle of the estate."

"Did one of the crazies kill him?" Adam asked angrily, worried about one more road block.

"His COD was blunt force trauma. According to the police report it was assumed he was a victim of a mugging. He was found in an alley not too far from Penn Station."

"I hear a but in there," Mac said with a raised eyebrow.

"Two witnesses came forward stating that they were sure they'd seen a woman leaving the scene before police could arrive. Mayberry here got the report with a little help from someone in our records department who apparently is damn good at harrying things along."

Mayberry glanced at Mac and it was understood that the help was from Haylen Becall.

Fielding continued, "Based on the general description the woman may have been either Jenifer or Jewel Scott."

"Jewel," Adam said with absolute certainty.

Fielding nodded, "That's my thinking as well. She needed him out of the way, wanted him out of the way, just didn't like him, found him a threat … any of those would still fit in with the timeline we have thus far _and_ with her psychological profile."

Adam asked, "So who is running the show? Eudora Scott or one of her daughters?"

"That would be the sixty-four thousand dollar question. But it may not matter. We ran the man's name and found that he inherited some property from an uncle and …"

Excited to finally have something go right Adam said, "God, please tell me that the property is here in New Orleans."

"Actually the uncle held the deed to several properties here in New Orleans. This is where we could use Detective Bonasera's help as well as those of her team."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Stella's eyes widened when she walked into her office to find Thad there ahead of her. "Problem?"

"Naw Cher … but I stopped by to have coffee with Mamere last night and I have the story you wanted to hear about. But perhaps we'd best close the door."

Slowly Stella closed her office door and sat at her desk.

# # # # # # # # #

Adam was the first through the NOLA crime lab's door. He was almost running but stopped short when he saw the look on Stella's face. He began to panic until Stella realized what the first thing he'd think was.

"No. No Adam, it isn't that but we do need to talk."

"I can't right now Stella, we have a lead and …"

Mac, knowing Stella's "looks" as well as he did his own turned to Fielding, "Can you get it started?"

Fielding, thinking it was just more personal crap nodded brusquely and took Mayberry off to the corner where he'd had some of his own equipment set up so they could run down the lead.

Adam wanted to go with them but reluctantly allowed himself to be led into Stella's office where Thad already sat. Stella said, "Adam … you need to hear this."

Adam sat in the chair that was pulled forward for him while Mac indicated Thad should keep the chair he sat in while he leaned against the credenza beside Stella's desk.

"Stella," Adam said. "Can we make this quick? I need …"

"How much do you know about Emi's background?"

"Huh?"

"Her family background. How much do you know?"

Adam just blinked at her. "Er … enough."

Stella turned to Thad and said, "You tell it."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically. To the room in general he said, "Well … Faucheaux isn't that common a name but … I'd heard it. Why I'd heard it caused some curiosity and I followed up on it."

"What Thad isn't saying is that I specifically asked him to follow up on it."

"Why?" Adam asked suspiciously.

"Adam, please understand …"

Adam shook his head and turned back to Thad. "Just spit it out."

"I would if it was that easy. And you don't need to be going motier foux … half crazy. Stella is a nice woman that is only lookin' out for you Son."

Adam just kept looking at him and Thad finally just shook his head. "Be that way. And since you are I'll tell it the way I see fit." Adam crossed his arms and just continued to stare. "Back before the War Between the States … what you Yankees call The Civil War … the Faucheaux family was involved in shipping and were quite well off. They came down a bit when they made some … er … unusual for the times marriages in the family. Made 'em have a foot in two worlds … the upper class and the … let's call 'em the less affluent side of things to keep everything nice and politically correct."

If Thad had been expecting to get a reaction out of Adam he was in for a disappointment.

"The Faucheaux family didn't care anymore then than you apparently do now. They didn't need to care as they had a nice tidy little kingdom of ships and contracts bringing good money into the family coffers. But the business sense seemed to get bred out of the family at some point around the turn of the last century. Then the Great Depression came and times really got hard and tight for the family. They also started having problems with lots of in fighting and the like. Last two of the family to survive in this area were twin brothers … Pierre and Adrien Faucheaux. All the stories go is that they were impossible to tell apart save for their temperaments; Pierre was all fire and Adrien was all ice. They worked as one until they were grown men. Then they fell in love with the same girl. Their closeness became a weapon they used against each other. The girls name was Orlena Valliere."

"As you can expect the brothers fought viciously for her attention no matter how she begged them to stop. In the end, for whatever reason, Orlena chose Pierre. This did not sit well with Adrien. He decided if he couldn't get her one way, he would have her another. Adrien swindled Pierre out of his stake in the family business and blackmailed Orlena's family to turn her off for marrying against their will. Pierre still refused to give up Orlena, and she him. With no prospects in New Orleans Pierre took his new bride deep into the bayou to keep her safe from his brother. There they had meant to have a family and start their own dynasty but only one baby was born … a little boy they named Guy. This is where the story gets interesting. Pierre …"

Adam snorted and shook his head. "… Went to work for the government flying important documents down to South America. He never came back from one of the trips. Yada, yada, yada … and today Guy's daughter is being looked after by some uber secret government agency so there just has to be some crazy conspiracy behind it." Adam growled, "Don't you people know how to keep your noses out of other people's business?!"

The three other occupants of the room just looked at Adam, stunned. Adam rolled his eyes. "Yes. I know. I've known for a long time. When Emi realized how dangerous her career field could be she was trying to find back-ups to take Reni and Gary in just in case anything should ever happen to her. She ran into a cousin through some ancestry website and he told her the story as he'd heard it, she told him the story as she'd heard it, and they found out the facts lay somewhere between the two. She told me about it when we became friends a couple of years ago. Big … freakin' … deal. There is no conspiracy, just coincidence brought on by bad circumstances. Now if we're done I need to go do something to find Emi since you all are apparently more into designing tight tinfoil hats these days."

Suddenly Thad burst out laughing. "Whoooo boy. Dit mon la verite'! You make me feel like a grande beede'. I thought for sure you were going to be angry about your little gaienne."

Adam gave him a confused look. "Uh … was that English?"

"No. Cajun. What I'm saying is I can't believe it, feelin' pretty stupid, and I thought you'd be angry about finding out about your little girlfriend having a past."

Adam shook his head at Thad but pretty much included the entire room. "I know Emi has a past. And I know her past touches things that stretch pretty far back. But the way her grandparents acted isn't her responsibility. What they chose to do with their lives isn't her responsibility. Any more than the way my … pppp parents ..." Adam stopped and cleared his head. "Look, we don't know for sure why some people take such an interest in Emi. She doesn't have a problem if it stays one of those mysteries of the universe so long as they don't pester her too much. As for family … the people that were really her family are all dead … except for the people she's decided to make her family these days. Danny and Lindsey and their kids … Mac and Christine … Hawkes … the Morrissey family that live next door …" Softly he added, "Me." Sighing he continued, "We don't get to choose where we came from or who we came from or how they acted … we do get to choose who _we_ are and how _we_ act … and how we react. And right now, I'm choosing to tell you people I need to find Emi. All of the other stuff is just window dressing we can deal with after that happens."

He got up, nodded apologetically at Mac, and then went to join Fielding and Mayberry.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Dear God … was that really Adam Ross that was just in this office?"

Mac was trying not to laugh at Stella and Thad's expressions. "Stella, I've tried to tell you."

"Seriously Mac … I …" She shook her head hard enough to set her curls bouncing. "Good Lord, now I've offended him … or worse, hurt his feelings."

"Give him time and he'll understand that you were just trying to protect him. But Adam isn't a kid anymore."

"You can say that after the way you've been treating him?" Stella huffed.

Mac sighed. "If the way I've been acting … or reacting … has given you the impression that I don't respect Adam or think …"

Thad shook his head. "Naw. You've been acting like you are the man's gris-gris but I've seen my father do the same thing with his sons on occasion … including me … whether we need it or not. Once it gets in the blood there's no turning it away. And your Adam is a good man, just worn down with hurt right now. Anyone can see it. He's done good with Willis which I gotta say is near a miracle." Thad stood up, still smiling like he'd been part of a fine joke and nodded at Mac and Stella before going on about his day's business.

When he left Mac turned to Stella and asked, "Do I want to know what the hell a gris-gris is?"

That caused Stella to try and hide a smile. "Um … it's an object used to ward off evil."

Mac made a face. "Dear God," he muttered. "Is that really how people see how I'm acting?"

Stella chuckled then sighed. "I really was just trying to protect him."

"I know," Mac said nodding. "But when it comes to Emi … I don't really think he needs it or wants it."

Thad and Josef both suddenly stuck their heads in. "Stella? That fed … Fielding … they've got a couple of addresses to check out but a couple of 'em are in the Lower 9th. He don't exactly got the look of someone who won't stand out. You know? And the boy seems determined to go with him. He definitely will stand out with that hair."

Stella got up and was suddenly all business. "Who do we have out there that can check the addresses?"

Josef said, "I can grab LeBlanc … he has process server duty down there this week. We use his vehicle then we don't stand out more than we'll be expected to stand out."

"Do it. I'll deal with Fielding. Just get gone."

Stella walked out of her office and Mac followed more slowly knowing … yes, here he comes. "Adam."

"But …"

"No buts. Let them narrow down the list. We stand out too much to start running all over the place. New Orleans may not be NYC but the one thing they have in common is that people talk. Josef is using a process server as cover. We don't want to do anything that might cause the Scotts to change locations, not at this point."

Adam forced himself to calm down. "You're right."

Fielding walked up behind him and said, "He is that. However, I do have something you can do if you're interested."

"What?" Adam asked quickly as Mac monitored what was going to be asked of him.

"How good are you at putting together information that will generate a quick warrant?"

"Uh …"

Mac said, "Damn quick. And thorough. Are you thinking local or federal judge for a search warrant?"

"I was going to ask Stella to make some suggestions for a local judge for the search warrant but I was hoping Adam would spear head pulling together all of the evidence so that I can get a federal judge to freeze the assets in the bridge trust … at least those that are stateside. We need to catch as many as we can, especially any assets that may be feeding accounts outside of the US. I do not want them to have a single escape hatch."

Adam looked at Mac and nodded. "Adam, call up to Hawkes if you run into trouble. I seem to recall him having a college buddy that had connections that might be useful."

"Don't need to call him, I have a college buddy that works for the Securities and Exchange Commission … the SEC." Fielding's eyebrow cocked in interest. "Fairly low-level but he'd know who to ask if I've got a serious question on any of the investments."

Just then Stella's phone rang and she nodded. "Thad?"

"You driving or me?"

"You … and grab Jorge. He's been begging to take a turn in the field and we might need a dumpster diver."

Thad grinned wickedly as Stella turned to the three other men. "Gotta run. Adam, you can use Jorge's work space. Just don't turn on the radio … the man's taste in music is …"

"Eclectic?"

"Bizarre and loud. He calls it 'screamo' and isn't something even you'd be able to dance to."

"Gotcha."

Everyone turned and went off to their prospective tasks.

# # # # # # # # # #

Emi was drowning, or that was her first impression. "Don't do it so quickly Jewel or she'll aspirate some of it."

"Then you do it Florence Nightingale."

She felt her head being lifted up and something placed against her lips. She resisted at first despite Jenifer's attempts to cajole her. It was Jewel who said, "She's not stupid, I'll give her that."

"Hey! Look at me!" There was so much command in that voice that against her will Emi did indeed open her eyes and try to focus on the speaker. Jewel took the water bottle from Jenifer, swirled it a bit then took a deep draw. After handing it back to Jenifer she said, "Now drink. You screw up my plans and your little boyfriend pays the price. Got it?"

Emi forced her shaking limbs to obey so she could sit up and take the bottle from Jenifer and then she sat back and watched as Jenifer and Jewel proved that all was not well in Crazyville.

It started when Jenifer looked at Emi and said, "She means Mother's plan."

Jewel growled and said, "You correct me again and I'll knock you on your butt."

Jenifer said, "You wouldn't! You know Mother doesn't like us fighting."

"Oh please. Mother gets off on it. You saw what she was like when she was having Maggot beat That One."

"She … she was simply …"

"Grow up Jen. You're a nurse. You know what she was doing with Maggot afterwards."

"God, don't be so disgusting. She was merely … comforting him because you said …"

"You're as blind as Mother is with even less reason. You need to open your eyes Jen. First she lets the sperm donor nearly kill us and then she abandons us. If not for Marcel we'd all still be rotting where we were. Then she does squat when Jeannie does the stupid and now we find out Mother has been lying all this time. We should have taken That One instead of Jeannie … at least we could have groomed her to be useful. Then to make matters worse she brings in the Maggot when even Marcel was against it. She lets me be kidnapped again, turns all the running of the finances over to Marcel without telling anyone … Honestly Jen I shouldn't have to spell it out to you. The only one she cares about is herself and maybe Jeannie, and even that's debatable. She never has cared about us. She never even helped us when the sperm donor started …"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

Emi picked a side. "Don't you tell Jewel to shut up! You better listen to her. Don't forget … she's the strong one. You just don't understand. I bet … I bet Jewel has it all under control. She knows what to do."

For a moment Emi thought she'd over done it but just like with Jeannie, Jewel's narcissism couldn't let her see the lie. "You bet I do," she told Emi. "So keep your mouth shut." The last word was a poisonous hiss so Emi did as she was told.

Jewel looked at her sister. "As for you, you need to decide how badly you want to live. Mother is going to get us all killed. Look at this mess. Maggot was supposed to feed and water That One like we'd told him but instead he's just sitting his fat butt at the feet of Mother while she smokes her pipe of 'medicine.'"

Jenifer begged in a whisper, "Don't Jewel … don't … please."

"Wake up Jenny. Mother is going back to the way she was when we were kids. Look at her. It's pathetic. I had to save us then. Looks like I'll have to save us now. You know what you need to do."

Jenifer moaned. "But Jewel …"

"He's just like our sperm donor. Looks like him. Sounds like him. Now Mother is even encouraging him to act like him. Hitting. Talking trash like he's somebody. Trying to touch us. And sleeping in her bed and …"

"Stop!" Jenifer said crying. "Ok … okay … I'll … I'll do it. But it can't be Mother's fault. It … it has to be HIS genes causing this. Mother would never … she would never …"

Not meaning to I looked at Jenifer in pity but dropped my eyes when I realized Jewel had been watching me. Still looking at me but talking to Jenifer she said, "Go wash your face Jenny. Straighten up. And you don't want to know what will happen to you … and Mother … if you force me to take action before it's time."

Jenifer left my small prison cell looking like she wanted to throw up but determined to do as her sister had ordered.

Jewel closed the door with her foot then looked at me. "What did you just see?"

Emi thought fast before saying, "Whatever it is you wanted me to see."

"You. Saw. Nothing."

"Nothing is what I saw," Emi repeated back.

"What are you going to do?"

"Sit here until you tell me what it is you want me to do."

She saw Jewel draw back her fist but she didn't have enough energy to move. She simply closed her eyes and waited for the blow to fall … but it never came. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw Jewel still standing there with a satisfied look. "You might be worth keeping around. You'll be fed shortly. Nothing will be drugged … that was Mother's idiocy. I ever catch you taking drugs and I'll tie you to the back of the car and drag you until there's nothing left for the pavement to scrape away. Understand?"

All Emi could do was nod gratefully.

Jewel turned and left but despite the change in Emi's status, the door bolt was still thrown, locking her in.

Emi sat there shaking. This is too much like her years at the foster home had been. She had barely survived that time. She wasn't sure if she was still strong enough to fight the way she needed to … because it would put Adam in the others in danger if she didn't handle Jewel just right. She would have cried but she was too dehydrated to for her body to even create the tears. All she could think was, "Hurry Adam, please hurry. I'm not sure how much longer I can hang on and continue to play their lunatic game."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

It was the end of the day before Josef returned to the lab to report what he and LeBlanc had discovered. In the conference room he sat gloomily until everyone assembled. Adam was all but bouncing in the chair he occupied due to his nerves. "Was it that bad? Did you see …"

"Hang on Son," Josef said revealing how tired his fifty some-odd years made him feel. "I didn't see your girl but I do have a report to make."

"Then … then why …"

"'Cause Boy, I've lived in this city my whole life. It was once vibrant, colorful, energetic … magical. Now only the for-show areas of town are like that. We've always had our poor … hell there's not a place in the world that don't have 'em … but it's hard to see how things still are. We're a decade past The Storm. We shoulda healed by now, shoulda moved on. But you get off the main drags and you can tell … we haven't."

The rest of the team filed in and Stella patted his shoulder as she headed to her chair at the head of the table. "It's better than it was. Even a short timer like myself can see that it is."

"It is. But there is still a canker. It is depressing to see how far we still have to go. I had family that used to live in that area. Can't get 'em to even consider moving back here from Texas. I saw a crackhead parked on the porch of the house where my cousin once lived. Damn dark and depressing."

"And that's why we do our job, to shine some light," she said. Then she said, "You said you had something to report."

The man nodded and pulled himself back together. "With LaBlanc's insight and knowledge of the neighborhoods I think we have it narrowed down to a block of houses in the lower 9th Ward, all of which are owned by a single entity. Michaels at the county office says they were bought a few years back by a property investment company owned by one Mercel Gerrard Sr. The man died a couple of years ago and his son … Mercel Jr. … inherited but didn't do nothing but put 'em with a property manager who does the bare minimum to keep them to code. They're all rented out and stable because the rents are low even for that area. People pay 'cause they know they won't find anything better for that price and the rent collected is just sitting where it is being deposited because the owner of record won't give permission to do what the city is mandating for neighborhood improvement. Property management company doesn't want to rock the boat too much because then they lose their commission. City has been making noise that they'll take 'em over but doubt that will happen without the budget to fix 'em up … and because in this case the taxes get paid on time every year. And around it goes until someone finally decides to do something about it."

Adam's hands were in tight fists under the table. He wanted the man to hurry up.

Josef looked at Adam and could almost read his mind though he gave the young man points for at least trying to hold his tongue. "The reason why we think it is that block of homes is because it definitely ain't any of the others on the list. Now, of this block of houses only three really fit the profile we were given. All three houses are lived in. Those living in the house are the right persuasion. Then there is the old car sheds all three have, but of the three only two look like they are in regular use for cars; the third looks like it is used mostly for storage so that one is only an outside chance."

Mac let Fielding handle further questions for the moment. "Household composition?"

"You mean females to males?" At Fielding's nod Josef answered, "The two with the in-use car shed both have one adult male that roughly matches the description of the unknown male suspect; twenties, dark hair, heavy build. Both have adult females living in the house."

"Did you see anyone matching Dr. O'Ryan's description?"

"No."

Adam's jaw clinched but then Josef added, "But that don't mean she isn't there inside one of the houses. We couldn't stay on the street long enough to do more than a casual recon of the households. We drew enough hostile attention as it is. Evictions don't necessarily make the neighbors anything but worried that they're next."

Everyone at the table thought over what they'd heard. Mayberry asked, "Would it be possible to get a drone to do a flyover and see if they can get a better look?"

Willis sighed. "Hate to be the barer of bad news but there's a storm coming in tonight that is supposed to last the next two days off and on. Even if we could hypothetically get a drone out between the rainstorms, the wind gusts would make it risky."

Jorge complained, "Weather has been fine, now a late tropical storm. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Ruins my plans for my day off too."

Adam gave him a look that would have put a hole through him if Jorge was any less oblivious. Then he blanched realizing he might just be looking at what his friends considered him at one time … music to mouth. He vowed to do better about keeping his mouth shut and his music under control. Of course without Emi there was no music … not to his ears, not in his soul.

# # # # # # # # # #

The crying was getting to her. It seemed like it had been going on for hours. Emi couldn't tell for sure how long though because she had no way to tell time beyond the light coming through the window and even that had faded to a dull, dishwater gray as bad weather moved in.

Emi wasn't certain what Jewel had done but there'd been some type of altercation, then yelling, and then … there'd been something going on that … well the sounds that she did hear were nightmarish. Unfortunately it didn't take a lot of imagination for the nightmares to come to life inside her head. Whatever happened it sent "Mother" into a hysterical fit and she barricaded herself in the room below and not long afterwards the smell of crack smoke was very heavy on the air making Emi nauseous on top of everything else. The trip the woman was on didn't sound like a good one. Instead of escaping whatever demons had been chasing her, it sounds like she ran straight into their arms.

Emi shivered as the cries from below her were punctuated by a loud boom from outside. Thunder.

# # # # # # # # # #

"But Mac …"

"Adam, I can understand how you feel. Hell, I feel the same way. But Fielding and Stella are right. We wait in the van out of view and let the local team do their job. This isn't our jurisdiction and our participation at this point could jeopardize the case."

Adam ran both hands roughly across his face and then into his hair. "ARGH! I hate this. She could be right there. Right _there_ Mac! What if … god … what if …"

Mac did his best to calm the young man though to be honest he didn't feel particularly calm himself. Suddenly he said, "Adam, I'll be right back." Adam only nodded and started pacing.

Mac found an empty office and took out his phone and dialed. When the phone was picked up he immediately asked, "Christine? I know it is the dinner hour but …"

"Mac! Oh God, I've been worried sick … I mean … I'm sorry. I didn't meant to jump at you like that. You wanted …?"

"Christine I don't have a lot of time. We're about to check out a possible location but … look, I know I've been …"

He could feel Christine through the line when she said, "Don't you dare apologize Mac. I know … _know_ … you take your job seriously and you've needed to help Adam. You just focus on staying safe. I love you."

Part of Mac was grateful and part of him felt even more guilty. "I love you too. I … I just needed to say it."

"Oh Mac …"

Mayberry found him and said, "Sorry to interrupt Detective but they're loading up and Fielding wants to know if you'll keep an eye on Ross. The guy is about to jitter out of his skin."

"Of course," he told Mayberry before turning his attention back to Christine.

But she got to it before he did. "Go. I know you need to. But … but call me later? Please?" She tried not to plead but she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't telling her something.

"As soon as I can. But don't worry if it gets late and …"

"I don't care what time it is, just let me know you're ok … and Adam … and … and whatever you can tell me."

"Christine? I … I love you."

Quietly Christine said, "I … love you too."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"Shut up!"

There was a sound of flesh hitting flesh then the crying briefly turned into a scream. The scream turned back to crying, then after a thud of some type the crying quieted dow so that Emi could no longer hear it. She did hear the slamming of a door downstairs inside the house.

Then Emi's stomach clinched as she heard furious footsteps on the stairs heading her direction.

# # # # # # # # # #

Mac and Adam rode in the back of a nondescript cargo van. There were no markings in the van or its license plate that would indicate it was the property of NOLA PD, but it was in fact one of a small fleet of such vehicles used during similar police activity.

"Adam, we have no jurisdiction here. Acting precipitously will endanger the case," Mac told the younger man as he watched him efficiently check the SIG Sauer P229 that was now his service revolver and then double check the safety.

"I know Boss," Adam said in a tone Mac had never hear him use. Scratch that. He'd heard him use something very similar when he was piecing back together a very shattered piece of evidence. It was as if he was concentrating so hard that he could literally hold the tiny shards together by will alone. An odd tone to use under the current circumstances … unless it was himself it was trying to hold together.

Mac reached out and patted the young man on his shoulder despite there being other men present in the back of the van as it made its way to the Lower 9th Ward. Continuing, Adam said, "Even if we were back in NYC I don't have the training the rest of you have. I've never gone into a scene with my gun drawn or had to chase down a suspect and make an arrest. I'm just a lab rat. I'm going to do my job and let others do theirs."

The other men in the van, while appearing not to listen, at the same time seemed to take his words in and relax. Mac on the other hand knew that Adam wasn't as transparent as everyone had considered him to be for years. He also knew from experience that Adam would act if he thought it was the only way to get someone. A certain hacking incident played in the back of his mind as had all of the times he'd told Adam to go home yet found him still in front of the computer or some piece of lab equipment plugging away some hours later. He always managed to have a good excuse for not following a direct order; only once or twice had Mac found it necessary to act on that disobedience.

"Adam …"

"Mac, I'm okay. I like working a scene. I've participated in rescue operations and searches. I've gotten better about talking to victims and suspects alike. And between Sid and Emi I doubt there are too many biologicals, regardless of condition, that I can't deal with. But this? Maybe emotionally I want to go kick in the door and search for Emi; but, my commonsense tells me I'm not a cop, I'm out of jurisdiction, and we do this as by the book as possible so that we can put a damn period to the crazies ever coming after Emi – or anyone else – again."

Mac looked at Adam with an arched eyebrow and said for his ears only, "You know I would believe that better if I hadn't just watched you assemble and load that gun in your hand."

Adam stared first at the gun and then at Mac. "This isn't about being a cop," he said indicating the gun. "This is about being prepared in case Emi, or you, need me. Trust me, I'm responsible. I get checked out regularly. I'm not going to accidentally shoot anyone."

Mac nodded but didn't like that feeling he got when he noted that Adam used the qualifier "accidentally."

# # # # # # # # # #

The door of her prison banged open so hard that the knob put a hole … another hole … in the plaster wall it hit. Jewel stood there, completely still, her face normal despite the obvious energy required to act as she had … at least until you got to her eyes. Her eyes look like black beetles and what little spit Emi had in her mouth suddenly dried up like the Sahara.

"Did you hear anything?"

Emi kept her head bowed. "You didn't tell me to hear anything."

"Were you crying?"

Continuing the farce Emi said, "You didn't tell me to cry."

"Damn straight. I hear one sound … a single sound … out of you …"

Emi simply continued to bow her head. She knew this game. It was one that Jeannie played. You had to answer a direct question but if you weren't asked a question you didn't utter a sound, no matter the provocation. You provoke the monster and bad things happen.

"Hmph," Jewel said like she was disappointed. "Finally someone exhibiting a modicum of commonsense. Mother … she just never listens. If she had listened then it wouldn't have come to this." There was a pause and then Jewel said calmly, "You keep minding me and I might allow you to stay with me. You obviously want to. I can see it on your face, in your eyes, you know who I am … what I am. Even knowing that, you don't know yet what I can do _for_ you. But for now … keep in mind what I can _do_ to you."

She slammed the door closed nearly as hard as it had been slammed open. Then the bolt was thrown and Emi could hear Jewel walking back downstairs and telling someone to "finish up" and that they were "taking too long." That they didn't need the nosey neighbors taking notice.

Emi was shaking but not because she was scared. The fear was a constant. The excitement she felt now was new. She crawled over to the door remembering to remain as quiet as possible so as not to draw attention from the monster downstairs. She'd been told in her training that if she were kidnapped to always watch for mistakes … hers and those of her captors. This time it looked like Jewel had overestimated herself, and the prison she'd stuck Emi in.

Emi ran her finger along the crack in the door's wooden frame. When she had slammed the door open she must not have given bolt time to disengage all the way. Emi pulled at the piece of wood then nearly shouted in triumph as a chunk of the frame broke away revealing most of the bolt. What this meant is that Emi could pull the door open even though the bolt had been thrown because there was nothing to block the bolt, not even a metal strike plate; definitely a hack job as far as installing the bolt. This was as close as Emi had come to escape since she'd been forced into this room. Immediately she started considering her options. She looked over at her "armory" and started to smile a cold and ruthless smile. Emi thought, "You want crazy? I'll give you crazy."

# # # # # # # # # #

The evening was cool but still Adam was sweating. He and Mac both remained by the van, but they also wore Kevlar vests.

Fielding wasn't far off but was closer to Thad and Josef as they stepped onto the porch of the home. He was obviously providing back up and Mac's stomach rolled. He was used to being the one on the front line – him and Don Flack – not staying to the rear. It irked him to see Stella by Fielding's side. He knew it was hypocritical to remind Adam of why they were to stay back while at the same time chewing at the bit to be there himself.

Thad knocked on the door and a young woman answered the door. The woman answering nearly shouted, "About damn time you people got here!"

Startled by the response, Thad said, "Ma'am?"

"I've placed three calls … three! Those people behind us are burning something... something nasty … cain't you smell ?!"

That's when Mac turned to Adam. "Boss, is that what I think it is?"

"I'm afraid …"

The night suddenly exploded.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Author's Note**_ _: Hash oil can explode but the science of it means that to explode it has to be made using butane as the solvent. The butane must also conform to its own parameters … in other words the butane gas must occupy 1.9 to 8.5 percent of the air in the area that it explodes in. Then there is sewer gas … hydrogen sulfide, methane, or ammonia and a few others. Methane is particularly explosive at certain concentrations. I'm not going to get bogged down in the science in the story but suffice it to say there have been many significant explosions due to either hash oil or sewer gas. If you are really interested in that sort of thing back in 1981 two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky (USA) were destroyed when sewer lines exploded._

* * *

 **Chapter 23**

Minutes before the explosion shook the neighborhood, Emi began to put her plan into effect. She quickly emptied out the old cast iron tub; that would have to do for a safe location, a bunker. She put the rest of her armory into a grocery bag and put it into the tub as well. Except for the hash oil. That was the one she picked to create the diversion for her escape. Hah! She could see the look on Adam's face if he were to know what she was planning. He'd told her he'd been in an explosion once and it was not his fondest memory. Emi winced as he'd described what the house had looked like afterwards … and the dead woman inside it. But there had been a man who survived the explosion and walked away as well. She just hoped she was the later and not the former.

Her plan was a long shot but one she felt she needed to attempt … and quickly. Things were coming to a head in the crazy house and Jewel was beginning to go through an unstable period, as psychotics often cycled through, where she could lash out unexpectedly. It sounded like she'd already killed or seriously injured the young man she called "Maggot" and she'd certainly become physically violent with someone else as well; Emi assumed it was "Mother" from the way Jewel talked. She could have also done it to Jenifer but that wasn't as likely; Jewel needed someone ambulatory to do her bidding and she seemed able to order the young woman around with impunity. Emi knew she'd be the next target regardless o, f how Jewel was trying to draw her under her narcissistic influence. Emi wondered if her ruse had been good for her own safety; and further, what they said about her own state of mind.

There'd been so many times that Emi had felt death near since she'd been kidnapped. The only reason Emi wasn't already dead – and not at the hands of any of the crazy people in the house – is because the transom window had been letting the sewer gas rise and exit the room rather than be trapped and asphyxiate her. As it is, Emi's nose had been forced early on to shut down to avoid being overwhelmed. Emi could never remember being grossed out about anything in her life, but that didn't mean she wasn't aware of the fact of what would gag a normal person; there was likely enough sewer gas in the house to do that very thing. She'd heard Jenifer complaining about the smell coming from the plumbing off and on ever since they arrived. Emi's only hope was that the smell meant what she thought it meant.

There wasn't a large amount of hash oil in the jar she'd found; and, it was thick and impure but that was actually a good thing for her purposes. The impurities were from using butane on the marijuana leaves to extract the active ingredient and the thickness would help the oil to adhere to the surface so it would burn. Emi prayed that that combined with the accumulation of sewer gas in the house would give at least a reasonable sized bang so that she could use the distraction to exit the house before the others realized it.

Emi knew what she was doing was dangerous, knew there was a chance that someone could get injured … including herself. It didn't stop her however. The wax seal around the pipe opening that would have been used for a toilet had long ago been destroyed so it was easy to make a small pool of the oil then cause the rest of it to run down the inside of the open sewer pipe. Emi's eye's watered. She didn't know which was stronger, the sewer gas coming up out of the pipe or the smell of butane mixed with THC running down into the pipe.

She gave the butane a moment to gas out in the pipe and then looked at the box of matches in her hand. There were only a three left. It was now or never. She tried to strike a match but was startled at the sudden sound of yelling coming from downstairs, so startled that she broke the match. Emi wasn't much for cursing but she nearly said let loose an f-bomb in frustration and fear. Only two matches remaining, only two chances for her plan to work. Saying a prayer she let the match, carefully placed it next to the pool of hash oil then jumped into the tub, grabbing the bag holding her armory, and covered her head.

She gave it a five count and then admitted defeat. It hadn't caused a spark. She was climbing to her knees when there was a sudden ferocious BOOM from directly below her. Almost instantaneously the floor lifted then dropped … and kept dropping. Emi was in freefall.

# # # # # # # # # #

Everyone standing around in the yard of the house that the NOLA PD had come to investigate shouted and ducked. Several in the neighborhood could be heard screaming and cursing. A few car alarms started blaring. Those closest to the blast had even been knocked off their feet by the percusion.

Those that hadn't ducked instinctively started ducking and looking for cover when debris started to rain down, Adam and Mac included.

Adam's first thought was a flashback. This explosion hadn't been as powerful as the one caused by the van full of nitromethane but it wasn't merely a few firecrackers going off either. His next thought was of Emi. He looked up in alarm and without meaning to caught Agent Fielding looking in the same direction with the same thought. They both took off at the same time running in the direction of the house; Adam, younger and stronger quickly overtaking the other man and jumping the rear fence separating the two houses.

# # # # # # # # # #

Emi was fighting for breath. Logically she knew she'd simply had the wind knocked out of her but when you couldn't draw breath logic didn't really play into it. She'd "ridden" the cast iron bathtub down to the first floor as the upper story had given way. It hadn't been a gentle landing. The explosion hadn't been gentle either. There was smoke and small fires starting to catch in various places in the old wooden house. Emi knew she needed to move but she struggled to orient herself.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Emi finally managed to catch her breath just in time to draw in a lung full of smoke and fumes from the fires catching all around her. She knew it was time to go but her eyes were streaming and it took her a moment to climb out of the tub because she'd become entangled in the bag she had the rest of her armory in. She had to duck once again when pieces of upstairs started raining down. Getting out of the tub she made the mistake of touching the rim with a bare hand and it was like touching a hot stove. She nearly screamed but luckily didn't as she watched someone trying to push open the door to the room she was in but it was blocked. "Mother! Mother!"

Emi thought, "Oh God." Then started looking around. It wasn't until she looked down on the other side of the tub that she saw legs sticking out. Emi scrambled out and away and because of the way her perverse mind sometimes worked all she could think about was the Wicked Witch of the East that Dorothy's house had crushed in Wizard of Oz. The way things had been going she would not have been surprised to see ruby slippers.

"I have got to get out of this place. I'm getting way too close to really being crazy and not just playing at it." Emi looked down into her bag and thought they weren't much for a Plan B but they were all she had. She just hoped she survived Plan A. With that she started looking for a way to escape the burning room.

# # # # # # # # # #

Adam felt himself grabbed from behind by not one but two people. The first was Agent Fielding. The second had been Mac who'd took off after Adam and had been at his heels the entire time.

"Adam!"

"She's in there! I know she is!"

"We don't know that," Fielding said trying to calm the younger man.

"You may not, but I do. I'm telling you this has Emi written all over it. She needs help. I have to …"

Mac got in front of Adam and said, "What you need to do is calm down. Stella and her people are already here and …" A shot rang out and Mac's face turned to one of surprise then concern as Agent Fielding started to topple over.

"Did you see where the shot came from?!" Mac asked Adam as they ducked down and tried to cover the injured FBI agent to protect him from further injury.

"Not completely but it had to be the side of the house!" Adam yelled, trying to be heard over the chaos all around them. The two men drug Fielding back towards the relative safety of the other yard. The wooden fence prevented them from going further only until Adam kicked it in revealing that the gym he'd been frequenting wasn't just about working off Emi's good cooking.

They were almost through when a hail of gunfire came from the same general location the single bullet had come. Adam looked up only to see horror dawn on Mac's face. Stella was down. Without thinking Mac ran to her only for him too to get shot.

Two voices rang out, "No!"

Adam muttered, "Sorry Fielding." Then took off to help Mac and Stella. He was met there before he had to decide which one to take first.

Thad said, "You get him, I've got Stella. Stay low. Josef is giving us cover and we don't need to get in his way. And stay away from that pit over there … you don't want to know what's in it."

Stella was cursing in Greek, Italian, and French by the time Thad put her down. Mac was still out but coming around groggily.

The house was burning madly and you could just make out a figure escaping from the front only to be captured by the personnel on that side. But Adam knew it wasn't Emi because they were too tall. He was frantic and made to run towards the house when a figure rose out of the dark in front of them and pointed a gun directly at his chest.

# # # # # # # # # #

Emi finally managed to get out of the tub and was frantically looking for an exit. The door was out as it was blocked by both debris and flames. That left the window but when she tried to break it she discovered that it wasn't glass but was made of shatter proof Plexiglas. She finally managed to pry the window open by breaking the wooden frame only to hear gunfire.

It was burn or be shot and Emi knew she'd had a better chance of survival against a bullet. The flames were licking at her feet as she finally tumbled free of the destroyed window opening. She stood up only to be nearly knocked down by someone running out of the bushes. It was Jewel and she was running right towards …

Emi tried to scream, "Adam!" but the only thing that came out was a hoarse squeak. The smoked had temporarily fried her vocal cords. Emi had been through too much. Her mind didn't even protest as she slid into a PTSD attack. It was that horrible night all over again, only all mixed up with the reality of today. Her father lay on the ground, bleeding. And the love of her life stood there about to be shot by a nearly demonic figure. Emi didn't hesitate as she took off at a run with only one thing on her mind.

# # # # # # # # # #

Adam knew he was a dead man. Knew it. The crazy woman in front of him had the same expression as the Irish mobster had that had crushed a lit cigarette into Adam's palm. No pleading on his part, no begging, was going to stop the inevitable from happening. The scars were still there though he didn't constantly worry at them like he used to. But Adam doubted the wound he was about to receive would ever have time to make a scar. He barely had time to regret not finding Emi when the woman was knocked off her feet by a small, growling body.

Everyone that had frozen at the sight of the woman with the gun rushed forward only to have to jump back as they were in danger of being bowled over by the viciously fighting women.

Thad shouted, "Merde! Don't be C'est sa Couillon! Kick em' in the tchew if you have to! Crazy femmes! Move! I'll do it myself!"

Only as it turned out he wasn't able to separate the two hell cats going at it on the ground. Jewel was just crazy. Emi on the other hand was way on the other side of it. She was in the throws of a very bad memory. Her logical mind knew that she couldn't change what had already happened. But her consciousness at that moment wasn't logical, all she knew is that she couldn't let it happen … or happen again; she wasn't sure which she just knew she had to stop it.

Adam finally dove in and tackled her while several other men tackled Jewel.

"Emi! It's me! Emi!" Adam shouted. He'd seen Emi have a meltdown but not since her daughter died. This was very like that time.

That's when Adam finally made out what she was saying. "Da! Da! Not again! No!"

"Emi! Dammit … Stella, need some help here. A coat or blanket!"

That's when Mac finally regained the last of his consciousness and took stock of what was going on. Instinctively he moved over to Adam's side and shouted, "Emerald Marie Faucheaux! Stop that!"

Emi bowed up and froze. Adam looked at Mac who explained, "She's having a flashback to the night her family was killed. It was seeing the gun pointed at you, seeing … er …"

"Seeing you with blood on you. We need to get you to the hospital Boss."

"I'm fine. It was just a glancing blow. We need to get Emi someplace quiet until …"

Emi's eyes suddenly cleared then she turned in Adam's arms and started crying and shivering and laughing all at the same time. "I knew you'd come. I knew. I knew you'd come. I knew."

Stella and Thad looked at each other but it was Josef who asked, "What in god's name is that smell?!"

That brought Emi the rest of the way back to herself and she sat up and looked inside the bag that was still slung over her shoulder. "Uh oh. Plan B broke."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Mac had a concussion from a ricochet. He was very lucky that the bullet's tumble had slowed it down enough so that it didn't penetrate. Still he had a nasty looking hematoma on his forehead, in the common vernacular a "goose egg". Normally, treatment would have been a few hours of observation and then he would have been released with restricted activities; however, due to the fact that he'd had residual problems left over from the wound he received the previous year during the pharmacy store incident he was admitted for a 24 to 48-hour observation. Not a single person in the vicinity was unaware of his displeasure at this fact. His displeasure only made his headache worse which in turn made his displeasure more pronounced; a vicious cycle that didn't look to be ending soon enough for anyone.

Agent Fielding was also admitted to the hospital. He had a bullet wound to his upper right quadrant that had required surgery. The wound itself had not been particularly serious but the resulting shock had knocked the man on his butt and reminded him why he normally left the dangerous fieldwork to younger men these days.

Stella's wound was superficial much to everyone's relief. It was a shallow through and through to her upper arm. She was only admitted long enough to make sure she didn't require surgery or a blood transfusion. Requiring neither she was quickly back in the thick of handling all of the things her position required of her, but she wasn't alone. Thad was right there looking more than slightly shell-shocked when he wasn't actively engaged in carrying out his job.

Emi was just as unhappy with her situation as Mac. She did not want to be admitted. Did not want to be observed. In fact had not even wanted to ride in the ambulance. But Adam prevailed. "Emi, I love you. You are the breath in my body. But if you don't get in the damn ambulance right now I will … I will …"

Emi could have called his bluff but she didn't. All she said as she was smooshed against his shirt front was, "Only if you come with me."

Adam hadn't planned on being anywhere else. It took a few private moments between Emi getting her vitals taken and finding out she was going to be put on an IV drip for dehydration for Adam to discover that Emi was terrified she was going to have to take a psych evaluation.

"Relax Babe."

"I always fail those things," Emi whispered in near terror. "They'll admit me to the psych ward and I'll never get out."

Adam was doing his best to try and calm her down. "Shhhh. It's ok Babe. That's not going to happen."

"You don't understand Adam. I … I had to play crazy to … to keep that woman from … oh God. They'll think I really am and …"

"Babe, listen to me. That's not … going … to … happen. You need to calm down. Your blood pressure is all over the place. Remember what your docs back in NYC said. You're still recovering from your other injuries. You don't want a setback do you? Let them do their thing here. Besides, have you forgotten Fielding is around? I'm sure he and his people would have a thing or three to say about anyone trying to put you someplace like that. Try and calm down. You're … you're … just reacting. That's it. You've been under a lot of stress. That's all. You'll be fine. You will."

Emi whispered, "I knew you'd be looking for me. I tried to leave clues. I …"

He was holding her the best he could as she was sat in a hospital bed dressed in little more than a hospital gown because they'd taken her clothes as evidence. Adam whispered against her hair, "We'll talk about that in a bit. Look, here's the nurse." Emi turned her face away and Adam tried to reassure her. To the nurse he said, "You're going to have to insert a picc line."

The nurse gave Adam a patronizing look and proceeded to try and insert the IV per normal protocol. She was unsuccessful, as was the other two nurses that were called in. The only thing accomplished was that Emi was hurting worse than she already had been, traumatized as well, and Adam was furious. Luckily for all concerned an anesthesiologist had come to the ER to check on a patient prior to them being moved to surgery and heard Adam's loud protestations. He stepped in, assessed the situation, and told the nurses that they would indeed need to get the doctor to issue an order for a picc line.

The anesthesiologist wasn't the only one that heard the commotion, Stella had as well. She walked down the hall and asked, "Problems?"

Adam just growled while he helped Emi sit up and dry the unwilling tears caused by the pain. Emi mumbled, "I'm being trouble, as usual."

Adam said angrily, "She is not. People around here just don't listen."

Stella could see for herself that Emi was already starting to bruise in every location they'd tried to insert the IV and winced in sympathy. After Adam said they were getting the doctor Stella replied, "OK, I'm going to go let Mac know that you've got it under control. He was half way out of his own bed before Thad and I could stop him."

"Mac is the protective type," Emi whispered with a very red face. "Tell him I'm fine; and, did anyone call Christine?"

Stella didn't know what to say but Adam did. "I called Jo and she and Flack were going over to tell her in person. If she can't reach Mac after she finds out I told them she could call my phone. Does anyone know if Tom Fielding or Mayberry has family or if their superiors have been notified?"

Mayberry stuck his head in and said, "That's affirmative but thanks for asking." The man grimaced as he raised a hand to the bandage on his own head. "Maybe Detective Taylor and I can audition for book ends."

"Dude," Adam said coming over to shake the man's hand. "I didn't even see you go down."

Red faced he said, "I didn't. That crazy sister Jenifer tried to clock me once we had her in custody. She was going after her sister with great bodily harm in mind."

Adam turned to Emi and asked, "You gonna be ok for a sec if I run down and check on Mac?"

"Go," Emi said as she tried to straighten up and in her opinion look less pathetic. "And tell Mac I'm so sor …"

Adam kissed her stopping her from saying it. "Mac is not going to blame you for what Jewel did … or anything else for that matter. I just need to run down the hall and then I'll be right back. It's not far."

Emi nodded and Adam and the other two left her to gather her composure for the coming ordeal of having the picc line inserted.

It really was only a couple of doors down, though more of a curtain than a door. "Hey Mac. Uh … I called Jo and …"

Mac sighed. "Christine reached me. And thanks for calling the others instead of calling Christine directly."

"That's protocol."

"It is but I still appreciate it. She's … she's flying down. You think you could arrange to pick her up at the airport tonight?"

"Geez, yeah, of course," Adam said eagerly, finally finding a way to at least partially repay Mac for all he had been doing.

Mac sighed. "How's Emi? I can't seem to get a straight answer."

Adam shook his head. "Like you would expect. Not as bad as she could be but still pretty jittery and strung out. Trying not to look like she is as scared and freaked out as she is. She thinks she's in trouble for some reason. She keeps trying to …"

"… apologize." Mac shook his head and almost immediately regretted it. Wincing he said, "Tell her I said she's not in trouble." Looking slightly ill at ease Mac added, "And if she says something … about mistaking me for her father … tell her … tell her I consider it a complement."

A grin spread on Adam's face, "Will do Boss. I've gotta …"

There was a sudden, loud commotion down the hall which wasn't necessarily unusual in a busy ER but the gun shot and the following by screams definitely didn't belong.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Every cop in the ER, and there were several, immediately employed their training. Stella was about to order Adam to stay with Mac when two things happened simultaneously. First, she remembered that he wasn't hers to order around and second, Adam dropped to the floor and crawled under the curtains between "rooms" to reach Emi's bed only to find her missing.

"Dammit." He wanted to yell her name but didn't think it was the greatest idea given the chaos and resulting danger.

Suddenly someone ripped back the curtain on her "room" and Adam found himself facing the barrel of a gun being held by Jenifer Scott. Not good. Seriously not good.

# # # # # # # # #

Emi should have known it wasn't over. She'd dealt with the Scott family enough to know they didn't know how to stop, that it simply wasn't in their nature; their brand of crazy ran too deep for that. As soon as she'd heard the first scream and then the gunshot she'd jumped out of the hospital bed she was in and started to move. Emi's rationale had been that a moving target was harder to hit. Unfortunately, she made a serious tactical error; she'd forgotten that Adam would be looking for her and that if she left where she was he wouldn't know where to find her. She also didn't stop long enough to consider that her move would do the exact opposite of what she was hoping for.

Sticking her head out briefly she saw Jewel and Jenifer Scott. They were coming down the hallway tearing back every curtain and opening every door, obviously looking for something … someone … specifically. Emi knew what they were looking for … her. She slipped into the room next to where she'd been, meaning to get as far in the opposite direction of the two women as she could get, maybe draw them off and away from the others, several of whom she knew were hurt. Instead she was horrified when she watched Adam crawl passed her heading for where she had just escaped from. Oh god.

She started looking around frantically for a weapon, anything. Everywhere she looked everything was made of plastic … food tray, pitcher, trash can, even the bed pan was made of blasted plastic. Then she realized the bed wasn't attached to the wall and in fact wasn't really a hospital bed but was a stretcher like out of the back of an ambulance. She quickly made sure that the wheels weren't locked, maneuvered the stretcher and then using all of her strength started barreling with it towards the sounds of the two women. Her only thought as that point was to at least startle them enough that someone … security or the multiple law enforcement officers all over the place … could get a drop on one or both of them. Yes, it was a crazy thing to do but Emi's brain process it that way therefore Emi didn't see it that way. To her she was simply evening the odds the best she could because the situation was her fault to begin with. She was the Scott family's target, anyone else they hurt were collateral damage and Emi could not abide even the thought of more of it happening.

Jenifer's gun went off right before Emi hit her with the stretcher. From the corner of her eye she saw Adam begin to fall and in that moment Emi gave the piercing wail of a banshee. She even looked the part of Badhdh in her gray sack hospital gown, curly raven-black hair flying every which direction, and eyes of green fire. Her grandmother, in her more lucid moments, had sometimes told her stories of the Morrigan, three sisters of whom Badhdh was one, that were warrior goddesses of Irish mythology; and warned Emi she'd wind up working for them if she didn't learn to control her temper. Well Emi at least partially learned to control it but at that moment she focused all of it she could draw up on the sisters who had dared to once again try and steal her life, because without Adam she wouldn't have one.

# # # # # # # # # #

To Adam it felt like he'd been clipped by a hockey puck without any pads on. He lost his balance and fell to one knee. He watched in amazement as a stretcher barreled through the curtain and knocked Jenifer Scott's next shot well wide of its mark, taking out a ceiling light instead.

Jenifer screamed as she was first run over first by the stretcher and then had her face vicious stomped by a barefooted woman. It didn't do as much damage as Emi obviously had been attempting but it did enough that Adam and several others could dogpile the woman and wrench away the gun still held in her hand.

But there was no catching Emi, she was already on the attack against Jewel who was so startled by what was happening that the shot she'd tried to aim at the ferocious woman coming straight for her that she completely missed. Then they were down and more than one man in the vicinity thought it had to be fiercest cat fight they'd ever witnessed.

All that was left in that moment for Emi was an instinctual need to protect those she loved and cared about, to fight and win. Personal cost didn't matter. Personal cost didn't really exist, not for her. The only end result could be that one or the other finally triumphed and the nightmare came to an end.

Several times there was an attempt to intervene but Jewel still held the gun and would discharge it randomly. Part of Emi's mind continued to catalog information as it always did. The gun was a Glock 22 which meant the woman had probably taken it from a New Orleans police officer. Tha model Glock was a .40 caliber weapon and there would be 15 rounds in the clip if it was at full capacity … and possibly and additional one in the chamber. Therefore, at most she had 16 bullets. Emi tried and failed to figure out how many had been shot from the gun so she decided to always assume it was still loaded as they fought. Certainly she was partially deaf from where the gun had gone off close to her ears at least twice.

People were running and screaming and in general being a nuisance to the officers attempting to stop and subdue the fighters, causing them to be occupied more with protecting the civilians that were in danger. On their latest roll Emi felt the floor change to plastic mat and then the cool night air as the automatic doors slid open. Emi maintained their momentum and out the door they rolled causing even more people to run. Concrete instead of linoleum or rubber let Emi know it was time to really fight.

Using her nails to inflict as much pain as she could Emi gained control of the hand that Jewel held the gun in, forcing it to extend out, away, and down over the curb. She got her finger over Jewel's that was on the trigger and forced the gun to fire until all Emi heard and felt were clicks. That meant the gun was out of ammo. At that point Emi had to fight even harder because of Jewel's psychotically-fueled anger at being thwarted. She felt the woman grab her hair and roll over to try and slam her head into the concrete. Emi released her hold on Jewel with one hand and reached up and raked her nails from the woman's scalp and down across her eye to her cheek. Pain and shock caused Jewel to release Emi as she grabbed for her ruined face, still screaming.

Emi scrambled backwards and then felt herself pulled further back as several law enforcement officers grabbed and restrained Jewel Scott. It took multiple tries to get cuffs on her and they finally resorted to using the ties normally used during riots. She was also eventually wrapped in the physical restraints used by the hospital for violent mental cases.

Emi's voice was hoarse, both because she still suffered from dehydration and because she'd unknowingly been screaming during the entire fight. Still she tried to call, "Adam! Adam! I want Adam!"

The arms around her finally managed to turn her so that she could see that it was indeed Adam who held her but she panicked for a moment when she couldn't hear what he was saying. He put a hand on either side of her face and said, "I'm right here. You're safe."

"No! You … they're going to keep coming for you … because of me. We have to find Mac. We have to …"

"Mac is fine," he said, helping her to stand though not letting go of her. He directed her back into the ER even though she kept turning back to stare at where Jewel still struggled and screamed in impotent fury.

Emi turned around and saw a knot of people, then recognizing who stood amongst them all but dragged Adam in that direction.

Trying to warn the man Adam said, "Uh Boss, she's not going to calm down until …"

Mac was nearly bowled off his feet when Emi ran to him and gave him a huge hug. "Mac … Oh Mac … I'm so sorry. You're hurt and Christine is going to be so upset and …"

Mac in his surprise stood stiffly for a moment until awkwardly returning her hug for a moment before forcing her backwards enough for her to see what he was saying. "I don't want to hear sorry out of your mouth again. You didn't cause this. Understand? I'm fine. Now let Adam make a fuss over you so he'll be fine. Go on. I need to talk to Detective Bonasera. Adam? Her hearing is probably blown from all of the gunshots. Make sure the doctor takes a look at it."

Adam grinned despite the fact that he had planned on doing that anyway. "Sure thing Boss. I'm just gonna be over there."

Mac nodded before turning back to Stella who just stood there looking at him.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

"What?" Mac asked with embarrassed irritation.

"First she mistakes you for her father and now? She treats you like … like a teddy bear? Geez Mac have you taken into consideration that young woman's mental …"

"Yes Stella, I know," Mac said, interrupting Stella's statement of concerns. "And as I told Adam earlier I don't have a problem with it, not after Christine explained it to me."

"Explained what?" Stella asked suspiciously.

Mac sighed. "From all that Christine has gathered Emi was raised in a very … let's call it a disciplined and patriarchal household. Extremely traditional is probably just as good a description, but one without the poor connotations that so many think of today when they hear the term because it was also very demonstratively loving. For their family it worked because her father was a true leader, one who served his family rather than expecting them to serve him. He did what he could to provide guidance and security specific to each member's needs. And because of Emi's … uniqueness … she required a great deal of his attention. Then through tragic circumstances Emi lost that at a very crucial time in her personal development. She survived and to an extent has thrived without it but to her it hasn't been a … let's call it an optimal existence. So, as a result she at times tries to … recreate what she thinks is missing. I'm not even sure if she is aware of doing it."

"And you and Adam are allowing her to use you both like that?"

"It isn't really being used Stella," Mac tried to explain gently. "Especially not when she is giving back so much in return." Stella's eyebrows gave away how skeptical she was at that moment. Mac tried to explain. "Emi likes taking care of people. Actually, it is more of a driving need, a good chunk of her personality. Regardless of the reason for it being so, that is very large part of who and what she is. You have only seen Emi as a fragile and stressed. But remember, she took on both Jewel and Jenifer Scott by herself."

"Mac that only makes it worse."

"Until you get to know Emi. I can almost guarantee you that her motivation wasn't the revenge you are thinking …" And yes Stella looked momentarily irritated that Mac had guessed correctly. "She was with almost one hundred percent certainty thinking about protecting the rest of us from what she saw as her personal problem."

"Wait …"

Mac held up his hand. "Trust me on this Stella, I'm right. Not to mention she started apologizing at first opportunity … because she viewed herself as somehow responsible; responsible for bringing the situation about, responsible for our injuries, responsible because she had not somehow prevented any of it from happening."

"That's not … that's …"

Thad took that moment to walk in and say, "Sounds like my Tante Genevieve. Not an easy way to live and in my experience only comes about after a lot of sorrows."

"She's certainly had that," Mac said, nodding slowly so as not to jar his head.

"And to add to the confusion," Thad said shaking his head. "My grandmother gossiped and there's a woman insisting on seeing your little bel famm. Claims she is a relative through the Valliere family, the girl's paternal grandmother's side. She's in the waiting area."

"Now?!"

"Yes, now. I've tried to tell her it isn't the best time but, she's the kind that won't take no for an answer when all she wants to here is yes."

From down the hall they suddenly heard, "Vous n'avez pas beaucoup ressembler à la famille de Valliere. Vous prenez après le Faucheaux. La plupart des malheureux."

Thad winced, having easily translated what the woman was saying, and then gave a surprised look when, after a brief pause, they heard Emi laugh.

# # # # # # # # # #

Adam hadn't understood a word the rather aristocratic looking woman said but apparently Emi had. The problem was that Adam knew Emi and whatever she was laughing about it wasn't necessarily something he'd find funny.

"Uh … Babe?"

"Sorry Adam, apparently this lady has no love for my father's family."

"Uh …"

Emi patted his hand and turned politely to the iron-haired older woman. "Your pardon Manmzel, my grandmother taught me to understand French but always sighed because she said I sounded like an Irishman trying to speak it, and very unsuccessfully at that. I'll not abuse your ears trying to respond in kind to your speech."

The woman sniffed but gave an unwilling smile before saying, "Well, you're polite enough which is a surprise."

"Why?"

"Because you are a Faucheaux."

"So was my Da but I never heard him be impolite. I heard him level a few choice words at people that were corkbrained but he was never impolite as a habit."

The woman's lips twitched once again as if she was trying to hold back a smile. "Hmmm. Well, he was only half Faucheaux I suppose. And his father … welllll … that's all water under the bridge. Let me get a better look at you."

"Why?"

"Because I want to. You are my family."

"My Louisiana family are all dead," Emi said with a finality that momentarily gave the old woman pause.

"The family you knew are all passed on yes. However, if my sister hadn't been so hard headed and prideful …"

"Your sister?"

"Your grandmother. Orlena was my sister."

"Grandmere only had brothers."

"Father didn't give her time to claim us. Then when he recanted she refused to respond to his overtures. It is a long …"

Emi's eyes grew wide and then she made a face. "Oh. I know who you are now. You must be a child of Grandmere's father's mistress that he married after Grandmere's mother died. He kept the two households separate until after Grandmere ran away with Grandpere to get married."

Theatrically the woman grabbed her chest. "So she told you?! I'm very much surprised. So much unnecessary misery."

Emi gave a very unladylike snort. "No. Grandmere didn't tell me. I found out about it when I was doing some family history research. Grandmere would have walked out into the swamp to be eaten by gators before she would have admitted to something like that going on in her family and you and I both know it if you knew anything about her at all. So … why are you really here? I'm broke. I don't have any connections that would make me interesting to you. I'm not a minor you need to take in. I don't have a dowry you can exploit. And if you even think of trying to marry me off to increase your holdings I'll make you regret the day you found out I existed."

Adam's mouth fell open and he couldn't decide whether Emi needed protecting or whether he should be heading her off because even a block of wood could see she was winding up for an explosion.

The old woman stood there for a moment before she collapsed into the chair beside the bed and started laughing. "Oh my dear … you are absolutely perfect. I was terribly afraid you were going to be some fragile, tragic young miss after all I've found out about you. But non … you are encroyable … merveilleux … parfait."

Adam leaned over and whispered, "Isn't parfait something you eat? Whatever she said, it can't be good."

Emi fought the feeling and then was forced to giggle at his silliness and she turned to Adam and said warningly, "Behave."

Adam put a very innocent expression on his face but inside he was relieved to see that the explosion had been diverted, at least temporarily.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

About thirty minutes later Emi and Adam watched the older woman leave the ER … watched her making sure she made it all the way out. The feeling Emi got was that the old woman was hungry for company. Not just any company, but female family type company. Apparently there'd been nothing but boys in the family, and few of even them, and of those few not too many left with most of those having moved away. She had lots of company in other ways but family was pretty thin. She just wanted to be able write a letter and get one back and apparently thought Emi fit the bill. Thought she'd be entertaining and not out to make a dollar off of an old woman. There wasn't that much more to it so Emi didn't feel threatened or pressured but it had made her feel strange. Emi turned to Adam and said, "I think we need to get back to NYC before something else weird happens." Emi's bottom lip trembled just a bit when she added, "I … I just want to go home."

Adam nodded then gave her a gentle hug and told her in a calming voice, "Sounds good to me, but we'll be here at least another day. Ok? There's statements and reports and …" Then Adam remembered and winced. "Oh crap Babe, I promised Mac that I would pick Christine up at the airport and I've still got to get a car and … uh … I wonder if they'd move you closer to Mac … hmmm …"

Emi tried to keep from falling apart as the adrenaline left her system. She tried not to seem as weak as she felt. She stiffened her spine and reminded herself to not be selfish and thoughtless; Adam still had responsibilities and she shouldn't need him to babysit her 24/7/365. She looked at Adam while saying, "And you need to let someone take a look at your shoulder. I don't care if you say it isn't much more than a burn. It still needs to be cleaned and antiseptic or ointment or something put on it. And don't make that face either Adam Brian Ross, you make me go to the doctor so you're going to go or next time you say I need to go …"

The threat hung silently in the air letting Adam know he wouldn't be bluffing his way out of this one.

"Fine, but I'm telling you they'll probably just put a couple of bandaids on it and send us a big bill as well. I gotta think how to …"

Stella walked in to hear him trying to make a plan and she said, "They've finally given Mac the all clear to get some rest. Whatever they gave him for his headache was strong enough that the last time he closed his eyes they stayed that way. I think it would be better if you stayed here Adam, with Mac and your … er … Emi, and _I'll_ go get Mac's wife at the airport. It makes more sense."

Adam tried to keep a concerned look off his face but Emi caught it and she turned eyes on Stella – eyes that had seen far too much for a single lifetime – making the woman uncomfortable. Sensing this Emi metaphorically removed herself from the conversation as much as she could and was looking for a way to politely escape the small area so they could speak privately when Agent Mayberry arrived with a good excuse.

"Dr. O'Ryan, do you feel up to giving a statement?"

The doctor that had seen her earlier walked by at the same time and said, "Only if she is sipping on water at the same time. And I want her sitting in a wheelchair. And when she comes back I should be ready to insert the picc line."

Emi would have protested but another agent brought a wheelchair and said he'd get her some water as well. Emi's mouth was still open in surprised protest as Adam was saying that he'd be there in a moment as Mayberry rolled her towards the temporarily empty treatment team room where they were conducting business and taking statements.

Turning to Stella he said, "Stella … uh … you sure you should pick Christine up?"

"Why?"

Adam ran his hand through his still messy and soot-streaked locks. "Maybe it isn't my place to bring this up. But look … you and Mac … you … er …"

"You're right, it's not your place."

Adam nodded. "Fine. But I'm gonna say this and then you and Mac can make whatever mess you are going to make. Christine is a good woman. She's also been good to and for Mac. She was with him every single day when he spent six months recovering from getting shot. She stayed with him afterwards even though he didn't give her a lot of encouragement. He was pretty rough on her a few times even. She never once gave up on him or gave up on them. And that's just what little I saw through the glass walls in the lab, I'm sure a lot more happened between them in private that no one knows about."

"Adam …"

"Stella, Mac was really hurt when you left." A little uncomfortably Adam said, "I was too. But not like Mac. You just picked up and moved on … no explanation, no closure, you were just there one day and gone the next. You wouldn't even let us throw you a good bye party, said you didn't have time for one. It was even worse than when you told me that us hooking up had been a bad idea even though it had been a good idea, just not one we should repeat. We had our night, but at least we agreed not to repeat it mutually. If I had to guess you and Mac didn't have that."

Caught between embarrassment and anger Stella tried to interrupt with, "Now look …"

Refusing to be put off Adam just kept going. "Fine. I'm just telling you that you can't walk back into his life and expect there not to be consequences."

Finally Stella got a word in. "Who the hell do you think you are Adam? That's a lot of assuming you're doing. One, I have never and will never get involved with a married man. Two, whatever was or is between Mac and I is none of your damn business. Three, who the hell are you to try and give me advice? This mess is just the latest mess in a long string of them for you."

Adam was hurt but admitted that what he'd said to her had probably been hurtful as well; however, he didn't crawl away like he might have before she left, he wasn't that man anymore. Instead with quiet confidence he told her, "A lot has changed since you've been gone Stella. A lot has happened. You and Mac need to figure things out. I saw the way you two were with each other. It was like re-watching an old movie where I knew what was going to happen in each scene. And maybe part of me wants the movie to finally have a happily-ever-after ending. But the more realistic part sees the disaster the final scene could turn into; that having one happily-ever-after destroys one already in place. You and Mac need to finally pick your ending and stick with it. For your sakes and for the sake of other people that you've involved along the way."

With that Adam turned leaving Stella to watch him walk away. For a moment she regretted her words, knowing that both of them could have handled the conversation better. Hearing a step behind her, Stella turned quickly towards the intrusion.

Thad stood there a solemn moment and then asked, "You gonna tell me it's none of _my_ business?"

Stella gave an irritated sigh. "This night just keeps getting better and better."

"Guess that's my answer."

Stella reach out and touched his arm. "Thad …"

Thad shook his head and stepped out of her reach. "That Adam … the boy might be fou … crazy … but he's got one thing right. You and Mac … you got history … and you got a choice to make. You gonna need to pick your path before the rest of us can move forward with whatever it is."

# # # # # # # # # #

Two mentally frustrating hours later found Stella at the airport nervously waiting for Christine's plane to disembark. She'd been tempted to call Lindsey to try and get a sense of the woman and to see what she could expect but it had been late and Stella knew the children would be in bed and Lindsey and Danny would be sleeping.

She looked up to see the first-class passengers getting off the plane and then with only a short break a bunch of people from coach began to arrive. Stella was looking for an average-looking blonde woman when instead she spotted a familiar face.

In complete surprise Stella yelled, "Flack?! Don Flack?!"

Immediately Don turned towards Stella's voice and she could see how concerned he was. "Stella?" He made his way over to her and the crowd parted like it always did to get out of the tall man's way. Then a woman emerged from behind him and she took one look at Stella and broke down in tears.

"Oh god, I'm sorry … just … if you're here I know Mac must be okay. You'd never leave him if he wasn't."

Both Don and Stella looked at her, neither knowing quite how to respond. Christine finally got herself under control and said, "I've been so worried. Mac hasn't sounded like himself and I tried to put it down to fatigue, but then to find out how dangerous the situation had progressed into and … and …" She suddenly hugged Stella rattling her, especially when she said, "Thank you so much for being there for Mac and Adam just like you used to be."

Don was picking up on Stella's discomfort and said, "Ladies, maybe we should get out of here and head over to the hospital? Kinda promised everyone I'd call and give an update as soon as I saw Mac in person. Jo said she is going to be at the office all night waiting on news."

Christine was still shaking and looking a little fragile as Stella nodded and said, "Of course. I've got a unit stationed at the entrance that will escort us."

"Must be nice," Don said with a bit of a smarmy smile that meant that Stella was free to smile back.

Giving Don a tired grin Stella replied, "I only use the boss card when I have to. There's a couple of conventions in town and parking everywhere is packed, especially here at the airport. Under the circumstances I didn't want Mac's wife to have to wait to get in to see him."

"Please, call me Christine. I feel I've known you for so long. Mac mentions you all the time."

"He does?" Stella said in surprise.

"Oh yes. We don't have any secrets from each other."

And just like that the petite, fragile looking, wisp of a woman nearly dropped two seasoned police officers in their tracks.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

He heard a voice whisper, "Adam? Adam? They want to move Emi to a room now. She and Mac are going to be on the same floor."

Adam finally jumped awake to blearily see Christine standing there with her finger to her lips to hush him. Adam then turned to see them unhooking Emi's hospital bed from the wall but Emi was sleeping through it all.

Standing up and stretching to get the kinks out Adam whispered, "Oh man … I guess that doctor knew what he was doing after all."

"As I understand it Hawkes got in touch with Emi's doctors and then forwarded a list of drugs she could take that she didn't react poorly to."

Consternation was written all over Adam's face. "Dammit, I should have thought of that."

"Shhhh. She'll hear you and if she thinks you're upset, she'll fight the sedation and she needs to sleep everything off. The doctor is also putting a heavy dose of antibiotics through the picc line because he said Emi's chest x-rays came back and there's a little fluid buildup which could indicate incipient pneumonia … in her case a relapse. But he also said that it doesn't look like she cracked any ribs, just some heavy bruising. There are a couple of places on her back that …" Christine swallowed her nausea remembering her first sight of Emi's back. "There are a couple of places that will be better for a course of antibiotics as well."

Adam looked worried and still half asleep as he almost tripped over his feet trying to follow the bed with Emi in it. Christine shook her head and stopped him with a hand on his arm. "They are going to take her up the patient elevator. I have the room number where she is going to be, but they said to give them about thirty to forty-five minutes to get her settled and all hooked up to the monitors. In the meantime let's get you fed. And don't tell me you aren't hungry. You know what Emi would say to that."

Knowing exactly what Emi would say Adam gave a tired grin and then asked, "Where's Mac?"

A familiar male voice said, "About as out of it as Emi looked when I stuck my head in."

"Flack?!"

After a little back pounding the two men stepped apart and Flack told him, "You look like crap Man."

Adam slowly grinned once again and said, "Might look like it but I sure don't feel like it. We found her Don."

"So I see. But you still look like crap. So let's go eat and maybe after I get something in my stomach you won't look quite so bad."

"Ha!" Adam said, only half way joking. The euphoria of finding Emi was beginning to wear off and while he was still happy, ecstatic even, he knew that both Emi and Mac weren't completely out of the woods yet.

Adam asked, "Has anyone heard about Agent Fielding … or Agent Mayberry?"

It was Don who answered, "Both are fine. Fielding left recovery and was moved to a room a few hours ago. He'll be here a few days but apparently his family is already en route and will be looking out for him. Mayberry is dealing with the crazy sisters … who I must say are even crazier than expected. They're trying to keep things quiet but it's getting hard."

Adam thought for a moment then said, "Bath salts."

"Huh?"

"You know, that designer drug that turns people into crazy, freaked out zombie types. Tell Mayberry to put it out that that's what the two sisters are suffering from … a dose of bath salts. And that until next of kin has been notified they can't release the names of those involved. Also, because of that the feds are involved in an effort to assist state agencies that are trying to hunt down the cross-state suppliers. As soon as the public gets a believable answer they'll be eager for the next news story and forget about this one."

Don gave Adam a surprised look then grinned. "You're sneaky … I like that. And it just might work. Mayberry gave me his number and I'll relay the idea."

While Don made the call Adam watched Emi disappear around the corner and then asked Christine, "Are you ok? Uh …"

Christine understood much more than Adam was comfortable with and she gave him a gentle smile. "Stop worrying. I trust Mac. Besides, I want him to be happy." Adam could see she was still a little worried, however he respected her right to deal with it in her own way. "And Mac says to tell you that you better have the shoulder looked at."

Adam finally noticed the soreness he was feeling wasn't just from falling asleep in a non-ergonomically correct hospital chair and reached up to touch the bandage that was under his shirt. "Already have. It's just a burn and is bruising but nothing some triple antibiotic cream and gauze can't handle."

"Good, that's one thing I can mark off of Mac's list of things he is worried about. Has he been getting any sleep at all?"

"Uh …"

Giving him a reassuring smile Christine told him, "I'm not blaming you Adam, Mac is a grown man. From the look of both of you neither one has been getting much sleep. Now tell me how Emi is doing."

Christine knew how to handle Adam and draw him out and she and Don kept him talking all the way to the hospital cafeteria and through their meal. She got a basic run down of all that had happened; more than Mac had given her but she sensed still edited to protect her. Men. She's survived her brother's untimely death, being a single woman and operating her own successful business in NYC, being heartbroken over Mac's injury, being kidnapped, and miscellaneous other trials that life has thrown at her yet they still thought of her as fragile for some reason. Amazing.

Adam started to get twitchy and said, "Uh … I … I really need …"

"… to go check on Emi," Don said with a grin. "We get it. We'll walk up with you since Mac is on the same floor."

# # # # # # # # # #

A few hours later Stella returned to check on everyone to find only Don snoozing in the waiting area. "Hey!" he said sleepily while stirring awake after feeling a familiar shadow fall across him. "Man, hospital chairs are the same the world over. In other words, they suck."

Stella smiled and said, "I hear that. Anything new?"

"Depends on what you're asking about. Mac is chewing at the bit to get out of bed and back to work but since he turns an interesting shade of green every time he tries, Christine has managed to talk him into waiting until the morning to check out. Emi is still out like a light. Doc said it is a sign of the amount of duress she was under rather than a reaction to the sedative she was given. Still has Adam anxious … when he can stay awake; poor guy really went through the ringer again. Think he just needs to hear her voice in a regular conversation to finally convince himself he found her and that she's safe and sound. Now if you are talking about the nut jobs that caused all of this, they ain't doing so good."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, if that one chick … Jenifer … was let run loose she'd probably turn into Norman Bates and park her mother's body someplace in a rocker and talk to her regularly because she refuses to believe she's dead. Preliminary autopsy revealed that while it was blunt force that killed Eudora Scott it wasn't the bath tub … and ain't someone gonna have fun explaining that in a report. The woman actually died prior to winding up like the Wicked Witch of the East but due to the fire they don't have a time of death as of yet."

"And the other one? Jewel Scott?"

"Oh now she's a real charmer that one. They've had to truss her up like Hannibal Lechter, mouth guard and all. She got one of the nurses trying to tend her wounds and tore a chunk right out of her arm. They're both so crazy they'll never stand trial. My god, and to think Emi was …"

Stella was surprised to find even Don seemed to like the young woman. "Don?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me about … er … Emi. Frankly I'm just not getting it."

Don shrugged. "You haven't been around Stell. The whole story has more plot twists than an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Bottom line? Emi has been damn good for Adam and Adam is damn good for Emi. He was a freaking mess after Michelle … don't know if you even have those details … but honest to God, some of us thought we were going to lose him it was that bad."

"Mac said he was bad off but I thought it was just whatever weirdness that Mac and Adam seem to have going."

Don shook his head. "It's not … okay, maybe it is a little weird but then again it has just become part of the background these days. I get the feeling after talking to Jo that Mac likes Adam for a lab supervisor maybe and is just taking the mentoring thing a little overboard."

"Adam?! A lab supervisor?!" After a moment Stella admitted, "Ok, maybe. I admit he is different than he used to be … more mature. Or at least about some things."

"Oh Adam is still Adam, and Mac is really pushing him these days to show what he's made of, but I'm thinking part of it is maybe Adam is finally letting the part of himself out that he kept hidden. The guy runs a lot deeper than he ever let on. It has taken me a hell of a lot longer to get to know him than any of the rest of the team. I never noticed how much he held back until he wasn't holding it back no more. You know about his old man?"

"Yeah. I mean I suspected he didn't treat Adam the best all along."

"You ain't seen nothing. His old man has Alzheimer's now and got loose from the ALF where he was living. Wound up at the precinct. He was all nice, calm, yada, yada … but he has a flash of memory where he recognizes Adam and Stella, I've arrested men for less. If Adam had been a kid I would have thrown that old bastard in a holding cell even if it was just to give CPS time to check the family out. I am telling you … and if Adam had to grow up with that crap? My Pops was a pussy cat compared to Charles Ross."

"You saw this with your own eyes?"

"I'm telling you Stella it was nasty and Adam just stood there and took it. Embarrassed as hell but he took it and stayed calm and got his old man back to the ALF. I don't know if I coulda done it myself, at least not by myself."

"And in walks Emerald O'Ryan."

Don shook his head. "Not quite. I mean they were already friends and had been for a couple of years but Adam was just getting serious with Michelle right then, or that's my understanding. Adam is crazy happy and we're all crazy happy for him. The two of them are so sweet together it's almost diabetic. Then I assume Mac told you the rest … Michelle leaving him 'cause she finds she can't handle his work, coming back after she finds out she's preggers, the baby not being Adam's, it was a veritable crapstorm of one thing after another. You need to understand how serious I am when I say we were keeping an eye on him for a while."

"Adam wouldn't …"

"Stell, it was bad. Adam was on the ragged edge. Danny was sweating bullets and even followed him home a couple of times to make sure he got there. _Now_ enters that short little Irish lass with the hot sauce temper. And bada bing bada boom. Whatever they make together is more than they make apart. Yeah, Emi is different but don't forget, so is Adam. They fit. And somewhere along the way …"

"Yes?"

"Look, she also fits with us. The team. You know how it is, some spouses just … they just never become a part of the life we lead. But Emi … she fits. Her background in forensic science don't hurt but that's not really it. And she bakes these cookies … even my sainted grandmother doesn't try and compete with them after she got a taste of a couple I brought home. Every time Adam brings a box of cookies to the precinct there's a friggin' stampede."

Catching his phrasing Stella said, "You said spouses. Adam and Emi aren't married."

"Maybe not with a piece of paper but that's about the only thing they're lacking. Honestly don't know what is holding them back though they're both probably a little gun shy after what they've been through. Don't know. None of my business. Might have something to do with Emi's first marriage and her losing her little girl like she did. Guess that's only been about a year ago so they could be waiting a decent mourning period or something. Ask Adam if you really need to know. He ain't shy about answering questions if you have 'em."

Despite having promised herself she wouldn't Stella asks, "What about Christine? Does she fit the same way Emi apparently does?"


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Don looked uncomfortable for a moment before answering. "That's a little different. She fits … just not the same way Emi does. And Mac is part of the reason. He always has kept his professional life and personal life very separate. You of all people should know that."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I ain't explaining it Stell, I shouldn't have to. You two kept things damn quiet but a few of us still worked it out. But you also made no secret that … hell, what do you call what you two had? An open relationship? I'm a guy and even I can name a good half dozen people that you two were involved with over the years and yet in between there was … whatever you want to call it that was between you two. But you never stuck it out … and neither did he."

Stella gazed at Don angrily for a moment before sighing and then saying, "It's complicated."

"Whatever Stell, it ain't my business now any more than it was my business then. You two never seemed to let it get in the way of the job and that's all I decided to notice. But you asked me about Christine. That's complicated too. She ain't you but she's been good for Mac. He don't wear his ties tight enough to leave a ring around his neck these days. He smiles more. He don't keep the same hours he used to, or at least not as often. Maybe part of that was getting shot and almost dying but she was there for him during that as well. So yeah, she fits with us … just in a different way and for a different reason than you did."

"I shouldn't have asked."

"Maybe. Maybe not. You still care about him?"

Almost like it hurt to answer truthfully Stella answered, "Yeah."

"You care enough to dump all you got here and come back to the City?"

"He's married."

"That wasn't my question."

Stella closed her eyes and then looked at Don and just as painfully finally answered, "No."

"Then it looks like you got some things to figure out."

# # # # # # # # # #

After her talk with Don she almost didn't go to Mac's room but decided not to take the coward's way out and bolt. She told herself she was just going to stick her head in but when she did what she saw caught her breath, was almost painful for just a moment.

Christine was smiling at Mac, saying something ridiculous to try and get him to eat the tray of hospital food that was in front of him. Mac looked like he was going to continue to stubbornly refuse when he suddenly capitulated and cracked a smile, then shook his head ruefully. He reached out and brushed a lock of hair out of his wife's face and then reluctantly reached for the spork that had come with his "soft diet, salt-free" food tray.

Stella was going to step back so she didn't intrude but Christine looked up and spotted her before she could. "Stella! Did you manage to get any rest? And how's your arm?"

Momentarily flummoxed Stella finally plastered a smile on her face and answered, "I'm fine. I'm between reports and decided to run over here and check on everyone. Don said Adam and his … er … Emi are resting so that left checking on Mac."

Christine grinned and gave Mac a sweet look before telling him, "If you won't listen to me I know you'll listen to Stella. Eat your dinner while I go check and see if Adam needs help with Emi. If possible, she's as stubborn as you are."

Christine glided out of the room still smiling, leaving both Mac and Stella wondering what was going on.

Slowly Stella said, "Uh … so … you probably should eat what's on your food tray. If nothing else, it will coat your stomach and keep the headache pills from giving you acid indigestion."

Mac grimaced. "This isn't food … it's barely solid goop … and I won't even try to describe what little taste it has." After a brief pause while he picked up one item then then another on the tray only to make a face and put it back down he said, "So. You met Christine."

"Yes. She's … she seems very nice."

"She is."

Then they stopped talking again. Finally Stella said, "This is awkward. We never had trouble when we were dating other people before."

"I'm not dating Christine; I'm married to her."

Nodding Stella said, "Yes you are. And you are happily married to her."

Almost unwillingly Mac smiled and said softly, "Yes, I am." After another brief pause Mac finally asked, "Is Thad your 'complicated'?"

"He was."

"Was?"

Stella looked out the hospital window and sadly admitted, "This situation has … added more complications. I'm not sure if they can be overcome."

"Why?"

"Why?! Because of our history."

"There was always 'our history'. You never let that stop you before."

Shocked at his bluntness Stella yelped, "Geez Mac."

"It's the truth and you know it. Hell, we both know I was the same way. Both of us wanted what we wanted when we wanted it. We were best friends in every sense of the word … and more … but neither one of us … hell Stella, you know what I mean."

Relaxing after a moment Stella admitted, "I do."

Bracing himself Mac said, "I had to finally accept your leaving. It took me a while. I think Adam may have been the only one that realized that I was angry about it."

"Uh …"

"Yeah. I know about Adam. And no, not because he told me. You told me."

Aghast, Stella said, "I most certainly did not."

"Yeah, whether you knew it or not you did. I saw how you changed how you treated him; the little bit of extra distance you put there. How you were never alone with him again if you could help it, made less of a point of paying particular attention to him. I saw how, just ever so often he would get a look in his eyes when he turned your way and he thought no one was looking. The same look I saw in other men's eyes, the ones that you moved on from. I suppose what made me angriest for a while is that I looked in the mirror and saw that same look in my eyes after you left."

"Oh Mac …"

"It's … it's ok. I came to terms with it. And … life forced me to … well … life forced me to live again. In a way … you leaving forced me to open up areas of my life I'd refused to ever since Claire died. I used you as a crutch Stella. I was never really all in when it came to other relationships despite fooling myself that I was. Peyton was one of those mistakes, leaving me to blame her for the same thing I was doing in my own life. It was wrong of me. I … for lack of a better word, I expected things from you I had no right to expect, things perhaps had you given to me I would not have been ready for or properly appreciated. It was wrong, and for that part of it I sincerely apologize."

Stella tried to find the hurt and anger that she expected to result from Mac's words but she couldn't. She couldn't because there was none there. The two of them were finally being totally honest with one another. Having the conversation they should have had a long time ago. It was almost cathartic.

Quietly Stella admitted, "I'm not coming back to New York."

Mac gave her a sad smile. "I know. I've … always known."

"I'm sorry Mac."

"For what? Being honest? Admitting that are things that you need that staying in New York you would likely never have? Things you were tired of waiting on? None of that is anything to apologize for."

"Ok then how's this?" she asked after realizing Mac was letting her off the hook for her own behavior. "I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. In hindsight I could have handled it much better … for both our sakes."

"We both could have. Hell, we're both old enough, with enough life experience, that we both should have."

Stella felt a peace she hadn't realized she was missing. It was an ending but, perhaps it was a beginning as well. Maybe this was the last bit of the puzzle she'd been searching for. There was one thing though that still unsettled her. "I can't believe you told Christine."

Mac shook his head ruefully. "I didn't. She figured it out on her own. I'd talk about you and …" He shrugged.

"Is that what … all of this is about? Her practically running from the room because I show up?"

"She wasn't running … er … exactly. She won't admit it but I think … I think she's worried. She says she trusts me with one breath and then with the next says all she cares about is that I'm happy. Truthfully? It makes me feel like a heel."

"Then for god's sake Mac Taylor, tell her that. Tell her I am no threat to her."

Then they looked into each other's eyes and _knew_. Stella may not have been a threat in the traditional sense but there was too much history between them … as friends and as lovers. They'd never quite be able to go back to what they'd once had; that easy comradery regardless of where they were at in their personal lives. Still, there would always be something between them, something too easily acted upon if they weren't careful. Stella knew if she was going to have anything with any other man she was going to have to be very careful about how she communicated with Mac from here on out, especially if that man turned out to be Thad. Mac knew that he could unintentionally hurt Christine if he didn't maintain a rigid adherence to his honor. It was a sobering realization for both of them.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

"We can come back to visit," Adam told Emi. "This is your home after all."

Emi looked out through the taxi's windows as they drove towards the airport, unable to hide her sadness. "No. It _was_ my home … a long time ago when things were different. Then my home became New York. Now the place isn't important; my home is where ever you are."

Adam just looked at Emi, realizing yet again just how much she had to love him. "You would wouldn't you?"

"Would what?" she asked.

"Go with me no matter where that is. Leave whatever you are doing behind."

Emi shrugged. "Sure. You're more important than that other stuff."

"But you'd never ask me to give up …" He stopped, suddenly feeling a little insecure.

Emi heard it and said, "Adam … I'm not Michelle. Your job … career … doesn't bother me. I'm proud of you. Sure, things get hinky sometimes. But life is like a snow globe; to be what it is supposed to be requires things get shook up. You haven't asked me to stop doing forensic work even though in the past …" Then it was Emi's turn to be insecure and wonder if he would ask her to stop because of who she sometimes worked for. "I … I suppose I could …" She swallowed and said, "I mean … it isn't like my hands want to cooperate lately."

Adam put an arm around her and pulled her close, but doing it carefully so as not to aggravate her still sore back. "They will. The doctor here did that pin thing on your hands to make sure they hadn't been damaged in the fighting and he said that according to your records it looks like you've gotten more feeling back since your last neurological exam."

"Maybe. But I'm not going to count on it. I need to figure out how I'm going to help support us the way things are now."

"We'll figure that out together," Adam reminded her.

"God yes. I don't know where I would be if I wasn't sure of that."

That absolute belief in the two of them being together sent a powerful jolt through Adam like it always did. He felt another knot loosen inside him. He'd be anxious for a while more but it would only make him more determined than ever to protect what they had.

# # # # # # # # # #

Two other taxis also left the New Orleans crime lab after everyone had said their final goodbyes. The first had already arrived at the airport. Don Flack and Agent Richard Mayberry were schedule to leave on a different airline than the other four and their flight left earlier as well. It would be a rush to make it, not to mention they would need to go through a special DHS que since they had not checked their guns.

In the other taxi Mac and Christine rode in silence until Christine said, "If … if you want to stay a few more days I'm sure everyone will …"

"No," he told her, pulling her close the same way that Adam had pulled Emi close.

There was a short pause and then, "New Orleans is a beautiful city. It … it has a lot to offer. Maybe a vacation …"

Turning to Christine Mac once again said, "No."

Trying very hard to be brave Christine quietly said, "I just want you to be happy."

Mac turned a very serious look her way, used his index finger to tilt her head up so she was looking at him and said with complete sincerity, "I am."

"Oh Mac," Christine breathed as she hugged him.

"Christine, I'm grateful you aren't asking me to forget about what I had with Stella. But … it had run its course. We'd both met our immovable-object-meets-irresistible-force moment. Neither of us were willing to change yet we both needed to. We could have handled it differently but we didn't. Now, we've both moved on, in different directions, and neither of us are willing to jeopardize that or what we have just to try and see if the what-if's could have been worked out differently than what they were. She's happy here in New Orleans, running her own department, forming new relationships. And I'm happy she's happy. And she says she's happy that I've done the same thing by staying in NYC. Can we just … leave it at that? Not … not continue to analyze it? I'm with you. I want to be with you. And only you."

Understanding that he could have made another choice and yet had still picked her made Christine momentarily speechless. She loved this man so much. Nothing would ever change that. She was willing to spend the rest of her life making sure he never regretted it.

 **THE END**

 _Look for the next episode – Episode 4 – called "Bridget Over Trouble Waters," a crossover with CSI: Las Vegas, starring our characters from CSI:NY, several characters from CSI: Las Vegas, and OC Bridget Graves. Coauthored and posted by CSIFanRider. Link to story can be found on my profile page._


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